Death Note K
by Lady Creepypasta
Summary: The Death Note: the power to kill. The Death Eraser: the power to revive. Two best friends have no idea that they are against each other when they both possess a Shinigami object. Kage Hikari uses her power for revenge, Yoru Sky uses his power for justice. But when other players join the game, dead or alive, it no longer becomes a battle between Near and Kira... (sequel to anime).
1. Retry

_**Death Note K**_

 **~Retry~**

"Hey! Come back here, you freak!"

A small group of boys ran after a gothic girl, chasing her. The girl was not obeying their commands, running as fast as she could through the school grounds. One of the boys threw a rock at her, narrowly missing her head. Startled, the young teenager picked up her speed and sprinted off campus. Unaware if she was still being chased or not, she ran behind a nearby wall and fell to her knees.

"Damn bastards..." she swore to herself. Out of anger and frustration, she punched the pavement, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Why me...? They're always after me... There's not one day when I'm free of this torment..." Enraged, she looked up at the sky and bellowed: "WHY CAN'T THEY ALL JUST BURN IN HELL?! I'M SICK OF ALL THIS CRAP!"

Little did she know that in the Shinigami realm at that moment...

"She looks interesting, doesn't she, Ryuk?"

"I don't see what makes her so interesting. I've seen and killed many humans like her. A lot of them end up committing suicide, anyway."

"What do you think would happen if someone like her were to get their hands on a Death Note?"

"They'd kill everyone who caused them pain. That's boring."

"Oh, believe me, I think that she'd be the perfect person to provide us both with entertainment. Who knows? Perhaps Kira will be revived once more."

"No, the real "Kira" can only be revived if his name is erased from the Death Note with the Death Eraser."

"Very funny, Ryuk. You know what I mean though, don't you?"

"It would be boring to watch the same thing happen again."

"Trust me, I can guarantee that this time things will be a lot more interesting than before."

"Okay, okay! I'll drop off the notebook. But I'm not going down to the Human World too; you can go on your own."

"Why must you be so difficult?"

"Hey, I got too many juicy apples - I can't take 'em all with me. Now shut up and go down there."

As the young girl continued to sob, a black notebook hit her right in the back of the head. Her cries suddenly stopped, but tears still shed silently. She rose to her feet and slowly turned her head, seeing a figure stood not far behind her, but when she turned to yell at whoever it was, she saw that nobody was there.

Baffled, the gothic teen knelt down and picked up the book, which she assumed was one of her own books which may have fallen out of her bag as she ran, only to see that the cover was new to her vision. The words written upon it: "Death Note".

"What the...?" was her reaction to the notebook. She examined both the back and front before opening it, encountering the rules.

"?!"

The girl flicked through the black-coloured pages. "Rules? Why the hell...?" Once she had reached the lined pages, she went straight back to the rules and began to read them, her eyes were widening as she read them, which she was probably unaware of. Of course, the student didn't believe these rules; to her this just seemed like some kind of prank or something. However, she was indeed curious, so slid the notebook into her bag and made her way back into the school grounds.

Once arriving back into school, the teen realised that she was late for her maths class. She was to be even later due to the fact that she had to wash the writing off her face in the school toilets, finally heading into the classroom where she was greeted with the stares of her classmates.

"Kage, you're late," the teacher informed sternly.

"Sorry sir," the girl - Kage - apologized. She sat at her desk which was located at the back of the classroom, directly behind Hana Mutato, a girl whom she had despised since she was a young child. Hana turned and smirked at her smugly before turning back around and gesturing to her friends, giggling silently. Kage frowned, but wasn't so bothered by this behaviour for she was used to it. As Kage reached into her bag to pull out her maths book, she laid eyes on the Death Note unintentionally. Her eyes widened a little as a psychotic thought came to her mind: write Hana's name in the notebook. The thought to her sounded dumb, but Kage's hate for the girl compelled her to do as her mind told her to. Besides, she had to try out the book's powers sooner or later. To her, now was a good time. Discreetly, Kage pulled out the Death Note, hiding it within her maths book so nobody would notice. She opened it onto a clean page and readied her pen before suddenly freezing. Could she really do this to someone? Would she actually consider killing somebody? Kage sat in deep thought, but then shook her thoughts off. After all, the power of the notebook probably didn't even exist, so Kage proceeded to write down Hana's full name.

The class started to write down some equations in their books as the teacher had finished talking. Hana turned around to face Kage. "Taken any souls to the underworld yet, Grim Reaper?" she asked, her two friends on some other desks snickering at her comment. Kage just glared at her darkly, then glanced at the clock. It had only been about ten seconds. She decided to ignore the comment, pretending to do some work. "Not very talkative, are you?" Hana continued.

"She's probably tired from harvesting souls last night," one of the friends, Rika, added, grinning.

"Hey! At least she doesn't work on corners at night like you girls do!" a feminine boy a few desks away snapped at the girls.

Hana turned and scowled at him. "Oh, if it isn't your lesbian lover, Kage," she sneered. Kage stilled had her eyes on the clock. Twenty seconds. "She seems to be on her period, too!"

"Just leave Kage alone, she's just trying to do her work!" the boy responded.

Hana got up from her seat and walked over, towering over him. The boy looked intimidated but attempted to remain confident. "If you don't watch your mouth, Yoru, I'll get my boyfriend to come and kick your ass like before," Hana threatened through gritted teeth. The boy, Yoru, seemed to sink in his seat. "Remember what happened last time he got his hands on you? Hm? He made you into a bawling mess." The other girls laughed quietly. Kage narrowed her eyes and looked at the clock.

Forty seconds.

Nothing seemed to happen for a moment, so Kage was thinking of getting Hana away from Yoru herself. At that second, however, Hana gasped loudly and jolted, becoming stiff and tense. Her friends, Kage and Yoru stared with wide eyes. She slowly reached for her chest, beginning to hyperventilate. Her breaths were short and she leaned against Yoru's desk for support before falling to her knees. The whole class stared in horror and the teacher got up from his desk, marching over. "Hana? Are you alright?" he asked, trying to help her up.

"I think... I think I'm..." Hana could barely respond, eyes wide with fear as she became more and more breathless, tears streaming from her eyes. She tried to let out a sob as she winced in agony. The teacher got up, looking panicked. He attempted to lift Hana up but Hana just slapped him away, before inhaling one final breath. She then stopped all movement. At first the class was silent, but then the sound of screaming erupted like a volcano. The teacher attempted CPR, looking extremely stressed. He started to shout for someone to call an ambulance, which Rika promptly did. Most of the class just ran out of the room, screaming. Kage grabbed Yoru by the hand and ran out with him, eyes shrunk with utter shock. The notebook actually worked.

"Did... did Hana just...?" Yoru asked as he ran with Kage.

"I think she did," Kage replied, sounding sick. "She... looked like she had a heart attack or something."

"But how?!" Yoru exclaimed. "She wasn't unhealthy or anything, was she?!"

"I don't know," Kage could only say in response. "Come on, let's head back to my place."

"Now?!" Yoru reacted. "But it takes like an hour to walk there! Can't we just stay here and call our parents or something?"

"No. I want to get away. Now," Kage growled, grabbing Yoru's arm and beginning the trek with him. For the whole walk her eyes were wide with horror and some guilt.

She had just murdered somebody.

 **~End of Chapter~**


	2. Recollection

**~Recollection~**

Upon arriving at Kage's house (which was located on a farm in a small rural area), the two school students entered through the front door with eyes still wide with trauma.

Kage's mother, Sango Hikari, rushed to the front hall and immediately hugged Kage tightly. "Oh, Kage!" she exhaled, sounding incredibly panicked. "I heard what happened at school! Are you alright?!"

"I'm fine, mom," Kage responded quietly. She appeared to be much calmer than Yoru, who was currently stood trembling with his arms folded. Sango was quick to notice Yoru's terrified stance once she was done clinging to Kage to assure her that everything was fine, so she motioned for Yoru to join the tight embrace.

"Everything's going to be fine... You're both safe now..." Sango repeated through her heavy breaths. Kage didn't understand why her mother was assuring the pair that they were "safe" since in theory Hana only died of a heart attack; it wasn't like a terrorist broke into the school or anything.

But Kage was quick to turn her attention to Yoru. He still looked absolutely horrified. In fact, it seemed that he had only just let the recent events sink in. Kage's expression became one of sympathy as she recalled Yoru's older brother dying of a heart attack about seven years ago. At the time Kage never really understood what had happened, but looking back at those memories made her see just how badly affected Yoru was after his brother's sudden death. The two had only just reunited after Yoru was sent to live with their aunt and uncle when their biological parents died, and not long after the reunion Yoru's brother died. Yoru would ramble on and throw fits of anger and sorrow, claiming that his brother had been murdered. At the time it just seemed like a child's instinct to blame someone for an unexpected death, but still to this day Yoru seemed to stand by his claim.

Then again, Kage remembered the famous killings that occurred seven years ago. She hadn't looked into the killings since they happened, and at the time she was too young to really understand what was going on. All she really knew was that there was killer who could kill people by giving them heart attacks using some supernatural power or weapon.

A Death Note.

Kage's eyes widened more as she remained in the huddle with her mother and Yoru. How did she not realize this earlier? Kira used something known as a Death Note to kill criminals and suspects. That's all Kage could really remember. Again, she never really looked into the story of Kira since she had always lived in a rural area where news wasn't really a big deal, and Kage despised watching the news. The only time she would hear Kira being mentioned would be in school or when she was out in the city.

To wrap up her thoughts before the hug ended, Kage had to ask herself one question: was she now technically the new Kira? After all, she had a Death Note which had been thrown at her by some unknown being and she had killed someone with it already. Then again, nobody would quite suspect Kira being on the loose just yet if only one person died of a heart attack. Hana was just a popular school girl, not a world-renowned criminal. Her death would just be known as a freak occurrence and would be forgotten about by the rest of the world. So Kage decided to relax herself for now, assuring herself that she was far from being suspected as a killer. Maybe later she could even dispose of the notebook and the whole thing could just be forgotten. She would never associate herself with the name "Kira" in any way, and after she got over the fact that she murdered one of her school bullies she could just continue on with her life as normal.

But could she really continue being bullied by all of those other students? That notebook had come to her when she yelled out in despair...

Sango pulled back from the hug, though she still had her arms around Kage and Yoru. "You two go in the living room," she instructed softly. "I'll make you both some tea."

The older woman walked both Kage and Yoru into the living room, sitting them both down on the sofa before walking out into the kitchen. The pair sat in silence, but after a short while Kage glanced over at Yoru. He still looked traumatized and he was visibly shaking.

"...Wanna watch some television?" Kage asked. Yoru nodded in response.

"Yeah," he murmured. "What's on?"

Kage switched on the TV using the controller, flicking through the channels. Sports. Kids TV. Game shows. _News._ Kage just put on a game show since it seemed to be the only decent thing to watch. Both she and Yoru watched it, but neither of them were actually paying attention. They both focused on their own thoughts. Kage could only assume that Yoru was still trying to get over witnessing Hana's heart attack while her own thoughts focused on the Death Note.

The notebook must have come to her for a reason. She had broken down after enduring so much torture at that school. She felt lost. And she was almost certain that she saw someone behind her when the Death Note was thrown at her. That figure she saw, if it really ever existed, must have been the person - or entity - that threw the Death Note at her in the first place.

The rattling of tea cups on a tray could be heard, snapping both Kage and Yoru out of their respective thoughts. Sango carefully placed the tray down on the coffee table in front of the two teenagers, smiling in a motherly way to comfort the duo.

"Here's your tea," she informed before leaving the room. Yoru was the first to pick up a cup and sip the hot tea from within it. He didn't mind it hot, but Kage did. She waited a few minutes for her cup to cool down before she finally started to drink hers.

The rest of the day was very quiet. Kage and Yoru barely talked since Yoru was in such shock, but towards the end he started to question Kage out of curiosity, trying to see what her thoughts were on Hana's death and trying to see if Kage was actually satisfied now that the girl was gone. Kage just said "I'm not sure" or "I don't know" in response to most questions, not wanting to make herself appear like a psychopath.

At the end of the day Yoru went back to his own house in the city, having recovered a little from the shock. Kage ate her dinner when the sun was just setting before heading up to her room for the night, and that's when things started to take a real turn.

She sat down at her desk and took out the Death Note, laying it out in front of her. She studied each rule carefully, making sure to take in each and every detail, but by the time she was done she just slumped back in her chair and let out a long and heavy sigh. What was she going to do?

Kage began to think about her lack of guilt for the death of Hana Mutato. With this notebook she could quite easily wipe out everyone in her school. If she killed each bully with a detailed death over a certain space of time then she might actually be able to literally get away with murder. But if almost everyone at the same school died tragically then it was inevitable that someone would point out that the deaths were deliberate.

The gothic female shook her head as she suddenly thought about the consequences of being caught. Shame. Jail. Death. Out of pure fear Kage dropped the Death Note into the bin beside her desk, leaning forwards and holding her head with both hands. She now looked incredibly stressed and worried, still unsure of what to do with the book. It had come to her at such a convenient time. Maybe it was her job to get rid of those who had wronged her in the past, even if it meant going down with them in the end. Kage decided that perhaps that was the case, but before she could reach into the bin to take the Death Note back out she felt her heart stop when a voice behind her spoke.

"I wouldn't throw that away if I were you."

Kage didn't turn around. Was her heart still beating? She couldn't even tell. She was even holding her breath as she remained frozen in place, green eyes wider than ever.

There was someone behind her.

And when Kage looked out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a human figure standing in the shadows of her dark room. The moonlight from the window highlighted the face of the figure, revealing a young man about two years older than Kage. He had cold brown eyes and light brown hair, his facial expression a firm frown which turned into a smirk when Kage turned her head a little in his direction. From those smirking lips, the boy spoke once again.

"It's about time we finally talked, Kage Hikari."


	3. Relight

**~Relight~**

Kage gasped in fear, almost falling out of her chair. Someone was in her room and knew her name. He seemed to be a regular human, not a God of Death or anything of the sort. Maybe this guy was a stalker. Or a murderer. Either way his presence was not a good thing, so Kage had to keep cautious and run when she had the perfect chance.

"I've been watching you, Kage," the teenage male began, pacing forwards slowly. "Not for long, though. Only since this morning when I threw a certain notebook at you."

"Certain notebook...?" Kage asked quietly. That's when she realised what he was saying. "So you're the one who gave me the Death Note!"

The young man chuckled. "Don't think I chose you for any particular purpose," he scoffed. "I was just interested to see what a distressed teenager would do with such a weapon."

Kage glared slightly at the male before her, not looking as afraid as she was before. "You thought it would be funny to see what I'd do with it?" she asked, sounding offended. "You picked me knowing that I'd use it on those who targeted me?"

"Pretty much," the boy shrugged. "I was having a discussion with... a "friend", and we were looking for interesting people to give a Death Note to. I pointed you out, and then... well, you know what happened next."

For some reason the way this guy spoke disturbed Kage. Why would anyone have a discussion about randomly giving a Death Note to someone? How did this person "point her out"? Kage couldn't help but think that this man wasn't as human as he appeared to be. After all, he had managed to enter her room despite all the windows and doors being locked.

So after a quick pause, Kage decided to question what the young man was. "What are you?"

The man glanced at her silently for a short moment before chuckling quietly to himself. "I used to be an ordinary human being before my own name was written in the Death Note," he explained.

"So... you're a ghost?" Kage questioned, uncertain if her guess was correct since she had never believed in ghosts.

"You could say that," the teenager responded. "But because I used the Death Note I was not allowed to enter heaven or hell."

Kage stared at him, her head tilted slightly. "Are you saying you're trapped on Earth?" she queried.

"No," the teen answered. "I am trapped in the Death Note itself."

Again Kage was silent for a moment as she let the information process. That statement made sense, but the girl still couldn't believe that she was talking to a ghost. That's when Kage focused on what the entity had just said. He had stated that he used the Death Note in the past.

Was he Kira?

Kage decided that she had to ask that question if she wanted an answer. "Are you Kira?"

The ghost glared daggers at her, his eyes cold and his expression sharp. But he quickled relaxed himself and closed his eyes. "I used to be," he confirmed. "But not anymore."

Kira. The killer that Kage had never really known about. Kira. The killer that Yoru feared and blamed for his brother's death.

This was him.

"...So you were the one who killed all those people," Kage recalled.

"I killed those who were rotten!" the ghost of Kira exclaimed. His yell caused Kage to flinch, her face now looking horrified. Did her mother hear that?

...Clearly not since there was no response.

Kira calmed himself down but still seemed tense. "Thousands - no, millions - of people agreed with what I was doing. Crime rates were dropping and wars were ceasing to exist completely. But because that _brat_ set a trap up to catch me off guard..." He growled and shook his head. "Whatever. There's no point complaining about the past," he concluded before locking his eyes onto Kage. "While I may be dead, my legacy live on."

For a second Kage was confused by his words, but then she glanced down at the Death Note which was still in the bin beside her desk. Her green eyes were back on Kira as she realised what he was saying.

"Of course, if you're still scared of being known as a "crazy serial killer" you could just give up the Death Note and I'll give it to someone else. You'll lose all memories connected with the notebook, and life for you will go back to normal," Kira explained.

Kage stood in thought. Could she really give up the Death Note after only killing one person? If life went back to normal then she would just go back to school once it reopened, and she would once again be a target for bullying. The same goes for Yoru. There was no way Kage was going back to her regular life; despite the shock the Death Note originally caused her, she was actually glad that she killed Hana with it.

"No," Kage finally said. "I'm going to continue using the Death Note. I'll use it to get rid of those who ever wronged me, but I'll make sure to remain undetected. I'll kill every last criminal. Every last suspect. And to make sure the personal deaths aren't linked back to me, I'll kill other school students from different schools in different countries. Students who have a bad reputation. Students who deserve to die."

Kira frowned. "That's not how I ever did things," he muttered. His frown vanished quickly, though his expression remained serious. "Fine. Do as you wish. This isn't my world anymore. It'd be interesting to watch the population drop, anyway."

For some reason Kage didn't think that his words represented what Kira really thought, but it didn't seem as though he planned to stop her from doing what she pleased with the Death Note.

And that made Kage smirk.

"I won't be a God," she said. "I will show no mercy to anyone. I will be... the Grim Reaper."

Kira's eyes glimmered with interest, but his expression was still relatively vacant. If he recalled correctly, "Grim Reaper" was a name Kage had been called by Hana, the girl she killed. It was safe to assume that Kage had been called that name for a long time due to being a gothic scythe-wielding farm girl. Now a joke had come to life; Kage truly was going to be the Grim Reaper.

 _'Now I know why Ryuk said that all humans are interesting,'_ he thought. _'Each one reacts differently to certain situations.'_

Kage looked out of her window at the moonlit sky after she finally took the Death Note out of the bin, clutching it with both hands. "The world will know that someone is out there, but they'll never know where to look for them," she declared.

"We'll see about that," Kira muttered, doubting that the teenage girl would succeed in covering up her identity.

"We will indeed, Kira," Kage agreed.

"There's no need to call me Kira," Kira told the girl. "I abandoned that name after I was killed."

"So what should I call you?" Kage asked.

Kira smirked ever so slightly. "My real name is Light Yagami."


	4. Remembrance

**~Remembrance~**

Kage awoke the next morning to the sound of her alarm clock, having slept deeply. She had forgotten whatever was going on in her dream as always. The girl groaned loudly and rolled onto her side, tearing her eyes open. She stepped down the ladder to get off the bed and hammered a fist down onto her alarm clock to finally silence it.

"Sleep well?" asked Light. His presence startled Kage since she had forgotten that he now practically haunted her, but she was quick to calm herself.

"As a matter of fact I did," she answered proudly, opening the door. "I don't have school for two weeks so I'm going to visit a friend. You stay here."

"I stay wherever the Death Note stays," the ghost stated. "So if you're planning to bring the Death Note with you..."

"What? So you're just gonna be there every time I use the Death Note?" Kage questioned, practically interrupting Light even though he wasn't planning on finishing his sentence.

"I can disappear into the Death Note if I want to," Light shrugged. "And nobody can see me, anyway. Only the owner of the Death Note can recognize the voice and image of the previous owner."

"Wait... really?" Kage queried. That explained why her mother hadn't heard the conversation last night.

"Yeah," Light confirmed. "So don't worry about me being spotted."

"Well... I suppose as long as you don't bother me in public everything will be fine," Kage murmured to herself. "...But right now I need to get out of my pajamas. Do you mind... disappearing into the Death Note or something?"

"Oh, right. I'll stand outside. Tell me when you're done," Light responded, walking through the closed room door.

Kage watched him leave, peeking through the keyhole to make sure that he was actually gone. She saw that he was just sitting on the landing, appearing to be in thought. Once clarifying that he was minding his own business, Kage proceeded to slip on some band-related T-shirt and her checked red and black leggings, along with some heavy black boots and her trench coat. Once done, she opened the door, still seeing Light sitting against the wall.

Light looked up with his standard blank stare, his glazed brown eyes looking at Kage's green ones. He said nothing as he levitated up to his feet, defying gravity's laws before he maintained a regular human stance. "So, you're heading out to your friend's house now?" he asked.

"After I eat breakfast," Kage corrected. Light didn't question that since it was normal for living people to eat breakfast in the morning, so silently hung around in the kitchen as Kage sat at the table to eat some toast. She was talking to her mother, who was completely oblivious of Light's presence, though when she went out of the room Light couldn't help but raise a question.

"Do you not feel sick with the amount of butter you're currently eating?" he queried.

Kage shrugged. "Not really," she answered. Her slice of toast as quite literally dripping with yellow liquid, and on top was a layer of thick butter. To most people this would have been enough to make someone vomit, but to Kage it was delicious.

"Huh," was all Light had to say. The conversation ended there so that Sango didn't come in and query Kage's talking habits, and every now and then the woman would go in and out of the room.

Eventually Kage finished her toast and stood up, putting her black messenger bag over her shoulder and across her body as it is supposed to be worn. Inside it she had a few textbooks along with her pencil case, but of course she was taking one extra book with her.

So Kage began to walk on foot through the rural town, heading for Yoru's house. He didn't live too far from her, but the walk was quite long. Usually Kage would walk with her earphones in, but since she actually had some form of company she knew that this walk would be different. In fact, she was the one who started a conversation.

"So then, Light," she began. "Tell me what it was like. You know, being Kira. How did it all start? What did you do?"

For a moment Light was silent as he walked beside her - though he appeared to be walking on an invisible platform which enhanced his height - but he decided to calmly and quite casually answer her question.

"I was in class," he started, recollecting his memories of the very day he found the Death Note. "I was bored, so I was just gazing out of the window. That was when I saw some kind of notebook fall from the sky, so when class finished I went to retrieve it. I noticed the rules and read through them before deciding that the book was just a prank, but despite being skeptical I still took the Death note with me.

"That same day a hostage situation occurred. The name of the terrorist holding the hostages was revealed, so I finally gave the notebook a try when I got home. I wrote down his name, and waited for forty seconds. Nothing happened, but just before I turned off the television it was announced that the terrorist had died of a heart attack. And from that day on... I decided to continue using the notebook to wipe out criminals."

"Is that all?" Kage questioned, earning a surprised glance from the original Kira. He then frowned and continued to face forwards as he walked along the air.

"Some things... got out of control," he admitted. "I thought my soul would be taken by a God of Death, so in the first five days I wrote down as many names as possible instead of taking it easy. But when Ryuk did show up, he told me that he wasn't going to take my soul. He was simply going to watch what I did."

"Is Ryuk the God of Death?" Kage asked.

"Yeah," Light answered. "Anyway, he didn't really do much to interfere with what I did. All he ever did was demand for apples." The young man seemed amused by the memories of Ryuk having withdrawal symptoms, but was quick to assume a dark frown.

"While my life was not for him to take back then, others seemed to want to take it. I was labelled as a criminal, and the world's greatest detective swore to hunt me down and execute me. A little much for a seventeen-year-old to be dealing with, right?" Light let out a very quiet chuckle before continuing to speak. "He tracked me down, but still couldn't prove that I was Kira. I'm pretty sure he knew the answers from the beginning, but he lacked the evidence to prove it. After a long war... I finally managed to get him killed."

"Couldn't you have just written down his name in the first place?" Kage queried.

Light shook his head. "No. I never found out his name. Another Shinigami wrote it down for me," he explained. "It was a big plan. He worked under various aliases, but most people know him simply as L."

"L?" Kage repeated. "...Sounds familiar."

"How can you not know about L?" Light asked, sounding almost hopeless. "He was the world's greatest detective who hid behind a screen. You never learned about him in school or anything? You never watched the news or went on the internet?

"I hate the news," Kage reminded. "And how long ago was this?"

"Seven years ago," Light answered.

"Yeah. I was only eight," Kage concluded. After all, what eight-year-old kept up with the news and such? Kage had her own problems when she was eight with bullying, and again she also had to deal with Yoru's traumatized state after his brother died of a sudden heart attack.

...Well, supposedly Kira had killed him. But many people died at the hands of Kira, and it was believed that Kira was not just one being. Light couldn't possibly remember each and every person he killed.

...But if he did, then maybe now was the chance for Kage to finally ask if Yoru's brother was killed or not.

"Hey... Light?" Kage began hesitantly, catching the spirit's attention.

"Yeah?" he responded, looking over at Kage.

"...How many people did you kill?" asked the gothic girl. If he knew that, then he must have known each and every individual victim.

Light stared back ahead of him once again as he answered her question confidently. "124925."

"That exact number?" Kage asked, surprised that he actually knew the exact number of people he had killed."

"Yes," Light answered. "Being a shadow of my living self I am cursed to know the name and pain of each person I exterminated. I don't even need to think about who I killed and how; I know them all more than I know my family. Hell, I can't even remember how my grandmother died unless I think about it."

"Huh..." Kage muttered. So Light knew each and every person's pain and the agony they felt when they died. He knew each victim as if they were his closest friend...

It was almost tragic.

After a silence, Kage finally asked the ultimate question.

"My friend... the one we're going to see today... He has always claimed that Kira killed his older brother," she said slowly. "His brother was a detective, apparently."

"I killed many detectives during the six years I had my Death Note," Light told the girl. "I don't know which one you're talking about, but I'm not denying that I killed them."

So maybe it was true after all. Light was the one responsible for killing Yoru's older brother. She didn't need to ask why since she already knew that Light would've killed detectives to defend himself, so it was obvious that Yoru's brother was just unlucky. Kage felt that no more discussion was required regarding this topic, so left it there.

The walk was silent for the last ten minutes, though every now and then the pair would have a very short discussion about something random. They finally reached Yoru's house, and Light finally stood on his two feet properly instead of hovering in mid-air.

Kage reached her hand forward and knocked on the door, then waiting patiently until she heard a clicking sound. Yoru opened the door slowly and looked up at her, still wearing his signature fluffy white scarf despite the hot weather.

"Kage," he greeted quietly, though he looked glad to see her. "I didn't think you'd make it today."

"Why? Did you think I'd still be in shock?" Kage queried, though she remembered that Yoru was probably still a little shocked himself.

"Well... yeah," the feminine boy answered shakily. "She just... died there and then... I-It was so sudden..."

"Yeah..." Kage agreed, but said nothing more. If Yoru suspected her, that would be a problem.

Yoru then smiled sweetly. "So... what do you wanna do?" he queried.

"Huh? Oh. Well... I brought some textbooks; we may as well revise for that maths test we have coming up in a few weeks," Kage replied. Yoru smiled at this.

"That's a great idea!" he chirped. Yoru was pretty intelligent and probably didn't need to revise really, but most smart kids revised just to be safe. Kage, on the other hand, was just an average student. She would usually rely on Yoru for help, but she didn't struggle that much. The only thing that hindered her was her bullying.

Yoru gestured for Kage to come in, giving her time to take off her shoes before the pair entered the living room. The duo sat on the floor, while the secret third member of the group sat on the sofa with his legs crossed as if he was meditating. He was watching the pair like a hawk, and honestly his stare gave Kage uncomfortable chills, but she knew that she had to shrug off her feelings so that Yoru didn't query why she was acting strangely.

Both Kage and Yoru lay on their bellies, reading a textbook each. In the background the television was quietly playing, and eventually the news came on. When it did, Yoru looked over at the screen and sat himself up before raising up to his feet.

"I'll get the remote," he announced, looking around for the television remote. At first Kage ignored him, but saw that the current report involved a man who had just shot a number of people dead in a hotel somewhere in Europe. The name of a suspect was revealed, and no doubt more people were involved, as well, so Kage for the first time turned around to Yoru and said:

"No. Leave the news on."

This surprised Yoru since he knew how much Kage hated the news. He stared at her silently, looking astonished at how intense her stare was as she gazed at the screen.

Kage listened and kept a mental list of each name mentioned, and now waited for Yoru to eventually leave the room for a bathroom break.

But the pair continued to study even when the news had switched over to sports commentary.

After forty-five minutes, Yoru forced himself onto his feet once again and stretched a little. "I gotta get some water," he narrated. "Be right back."

The black-haired boy walked out of the room, and as soon as he was completely out of sight, Kage pulled out her Death Note and immediately began writing down the names of the suspects on the news. Light loomed over her shoulder, watching her as she wrote.

"I suggest you turn the TV off in case your friend suspects your Kira," he recommended. "You hate the news yet you watched it today, and if he comes back after getting his glass of water and sees the deaths of the criminals on the news, he's bound to suspect that you've done something. And didn't you say his brother was a detective?"

"Relax, I know what I'm doing," Kage whispered quietly. She finished writing the names and slipped the Death Note back into her bag before continuing to study once the television had been turned off.

Yoru re-entered the room with his glass of water, sitting down beside Kage on the floor with a smile on his face. He looked at the black television screen and laughed quietly. "You still hate the news," he confirmed.

Kage chuckled along with him. "Can't stand it," she expanded, smiling slightly. Yoru smiled back before looking back at his book.

Light watched the two, surprised that Yoru was so blind to Kage's true identity. But that made him chuckle in an evil manner. This teenager wasn't going to be a threat, even if his older brother was someone like Near. He seemed more like someone who would be related to Matsuda with the way he was acting.

Of course, Kage could hear his laughter, but she knew that she had to ignore it. She didn't know what Light was laughing it, and she still cared for Yoru and didn't want him to ever get hurt, so if Light was preparing to witness Kage kill or manipulate him, he had to think again.

Light's laughter was quick to die down as he continued to watch the duo. At least Kage was actually using the Death Note to do what he did in the past, even if she killed personal enemies on the way. And hopefully Yoru wasn't going to hold Kage back at all. He was her closest and only true friend, and he was still a brother to a detective who worked on the Kira case. No doubt he'd eventually see the news and suspect Kage, or alternatively Kage might even wipe out a personal enemy of Yoru's.

...No, he had to stop worrying. Of course some things would threaten Kage in the near future and there would be a detective who suspected her 100%, but it was up to Kage to protect herself just like how Light did for six years. This Yoru boy wasn't going to be much of a threat.

There was someone else out there who would be more of a threat to the new Kira.

And Light knew exactly who it was.

...

The news was being broadcast everywhere. All suspects dead. Cause of death for all: heart attack.

An albino young man sat on the floor, twirling some of his hair between his index finger and his thumb. His expression was blank as he watched the large screen before him which showed him the same live broadcast most of Japan was watching right now. This wasn't even secretive.

"Kira..." he muttered to himself, a slight hint of viciousness in his emotionless tone. He snapped a slap-on wristband and rolled it along the floor, not even looking at the object he had thrown as he kept his grey eyes focused on the screen.

He had solved the original Kira case and had promptly refused the C-Kira case a few months after that.

There was yet another crazy psychopath who had found a Death Note by chance. Unlike C-Kira, they seemed to be trying to accomplish the same goal as the original Kira. Killing criminals, even suspects who have not yet been proven guilty.

But was this all they had done? For all he knew, this Kira could have killed someone else as a test. The only thing that could be done was research. Research on people who died of sudden heart attacks.

Maybe criminals weren't the only victims on this Kira's list. And if it turned out that they were the only targets, then this Kira would officially be a copycat.

Unless they were linked to the original Kira to start with. After all, he had many followers and a few people who did his work for him. This could have been his successor.

But just to be safe, he knew that he had to keep his eye on this Kira's actions. Anyone that died of a heart attack had to be listed down somewhere. Their deaths had to be researched thoroughly for clues at this stage.

He'd find a link between the killings no matter how diverse they were.

The young man decided to shuffle over to his computer and look in the world database. Who had died recently? Of a heart attack, precisely?

Yesterday there was a death in a junior high school located in Kansai region of Japan. A fifteen-year-old girl named Hana Mutato suddenly had a heart attack when she got up during class to threaten another student. The student she was threatening was Yoru Sky.

Instantly this boy was listed as a suspect.

Hana had reportedly threatened to get her boyfriend to deal with Yoru after he had defended another student in the class, a girl named Kage Hikari.

Could she have done it?

Her name was written down, but her chances of being Kira seemed to be less than Yoru's.

After doing more research, it was discovered that Hana's boyfriend was named Tyrone Akita. Tyrone's name was kept listed down separately; if he died suddenly, then the albino detective had to take a trip to the Kansai region of Japan to meet with Kage and Yoru, and any other possible suspects.

"We'll see how well you can hide, Kira," the man said, still twirling his hair. "I'll play your game, but I won't play by the rules. I'll break all the rules and make up my own."

There was a glimmer in his grey eyes as he turned back to look at the screen showing the news broadcast, which was now repeating itself. There was a dark frown on the male's face, but he suddenly smirked in a creepy yet smug manner.

This was going to be fun.

 **~End of Chapter~**


	5. Recluse

**~Recluse~**

Two weeks had finally passed. School had reopened, and Kage had killed a number of criminals around the world seemingly without being noticed. Light was rather surprised to see that Kage hadn't been noticed yet, but of course there were some people coming up with theories regarding Kira's return. Light knew this, and in a way he was a little annoyed that he couldn't be the Kira that was returning, but at least someone was following his ways.

But returning to school meant that Kage was bound to rekindle her anger and hatred towards other bullies. She'd end up killing them too quickly before she can even it out by killing other school students from across the world.

No, if she did that, Light could easily stop her. This wasn't going to end so soon.

Currently Kage was sitting in class, Yoru sitting a few desks away from her. Nobody was bothering either of them right now since it was the first day back and many of them were still in shock after Hana's sudden death.

"Class," came the voice of the teacher, getting everyone's attention. "I understand that what happened a few weeks ago may still have an effect on your minds, but it's good to have you all back as a class. Your education is highly important, but because of the two-week break I can assure you all that your test dates have been pushed back."

A few students whispered "Yes!" to themselves, glad that they had more time before their tests, but after some quiet discussion the teacher coughed to get the class' attention once again.

"Also, I want to welcome a new student to the class," he continued, heading over to the door. He reached for the handle and pulled the door open, and in walked an albino boy who stood with rounded shoulders. His grey eyes gazed at the wall at the back of the classroom as he stood in front of the blackboard twirling his wavy white hair.

Kage didn't really care for the new student's appearance, but she spotted Light standing beside her desk with wide eyes of what seemed like a mixture of horror and hatred. The girl tilted her head, squinting her eyes with confusion before looking back at the boy at the front, blurring out her teacher's introductory speech.

The teenager's green eyes glanced back up at Light discreetly, but she stared long enough to show that she was silently demanding an explanation from the ghost. He clearly knew something. Thankfully Light noticed her glance, and gave her an explanation without taking his brown eyes off the albino boy.

"That boy is older than he looks," he stated. "He must be nineteen now. He's working undercover, and I'm guessing he's onto you."

There was a brief silence as Kage processed Light's words. How could he possibly know all of that?

"Do not give that guy any hints that you're Kira," Light continued. "Whatever he tells you will most likely be a lie. His name is Nate River and he's the detective who exposed my identity as Kira a year ago."

Kage's eyes widened in horror as she stared back at the boy at the front of the class, who was now discreetly looking at her. His gaze was vacant, but Kage knew that it was one to silently tell her that he was challenging her. But then his eyes were on Yoru, who seemed oblivious to the guy's stare.

"Don't write down his name," Light added to his previous statements just as Kage considered writing his name down tonight. "If you kill him now then it will probably prove that you are Kira."

 _'But he's looking at Yoru,'_ Kage thought. She obviously wasn't the only suspect Nate had.

Nate shuffled towards an empty seat, snapping Kage out of her thoughts. She watched him sit down in Hana's seat - the seat directly in front of her. The teacher said a few more things, and eventually everyone was finally allowed to get on with their work.

Since everyone was talking, Nate finally turned around to face Kage with a sweet smile on his face. Kage glanced up at him, her heart jumping and missing a beat. He was definitely onto her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," he greeted kindly. "I'm Erwin Suda."

"So I heard," Kage muttered in response, pretending that she listened to the boy's introduction. She continued with her work, only to have Nate place his on her desk, turning his chair around so that he was now facing her.

"Can I work with you?" he asked rather politely. "I don't really understand this topic."

Kage paused for a second, looking at Nate again. His expression didn't look like that of a great detective with intentions to capture her, but obviously he was just a very good actor.

"...Sure," she responded quietly.

Nate pulled his chair even closer to Kage's desk, leaning over his work and scanning the words on the paper. He started asking Kage about each question, and Kage's responses were all quiet and short. Some students were whispering to each other, confused as to why the new student was so keen on talking to Kage. Yoru, on the other hand, watched with curiosity. Kage had never really made friends with anyone besides him, so seeing her talking to someone else was quite surprising. But the boy was also jealous; what if 'Erwin' took her away from him? What if he started dating her? Yoru was terrified of being alone...

Light, in the meantime, was looming over Near. Kage was uncomfortable with him being so close and so distracting, especially since the spirit was talking.

"You little brat, I can't wait to watch you have a heart attack at some point..." he growled. "I can't wait for you to die just like L did. You exposing my identity cost me my life..."

Kage listened to what he was saying, finding his anger quite spine-chilling. It was obvious that he really hated this guy, and she couldn't blame him.

It wasn't long until it was lunchtime. Kage left her current class with Yoru by her side. Nate had stayed behind to talk to the teacher for a few minutes, giving Kage some time to talk to Yoru about him.

"Hey, Yoru? What do you think of that new guy?" she asked.

"Huh? You mean Erwin, right?" Yoru responded.

"Yeah," Kage replied.

"Well... he doesn't seem like a bad guy," the feminine male smiled. "He was treating you nicely, right? Unlike everyone else..."

"I guess," Kage shrugged, not really amused by Yoru's remark. She then turned and gave him a serious look. "Hey... was he... giving you weird looks?" she queried.

Yoru glanced at her. "Huh? Weird looks? Why do you ask?" he questioned.

"I thought I saw him looking at you funny," Kage explained. "...Never mind. If he didn't give you odd looks then there's nothing to worry about."

"Hey guys," came Nate's voice suddenly as he caught up with the pair, walking between them both, his posture still a slouch.

"Huh? Oh, hi, Erwin," Yoru greeted with a sweet smile.

"Hey," Kage murmured.

"Are you two friends?" Nate questioned, looking between the pair. "I didn't see you talking much during class."

"We don't talk in class very often," Kage answered. "But we are friends."

"Oh? Why don't you guys talk much?" asked Nate as though he was interrogating the gothic girl.

Kage glanced at him. "Let's just say we get... comments from the other students," she responded.

"I see..." Nate muttered in response, almost as though he had learned something. He then smiled again. "Well, I won't give you guys any comments! Cross my heart!"

 _'He's good,'_ Kage thought. He was actually acting like a sweet and innocent school boy. But Kage couldn't glare at him in thought for long, so just smiled softly herself.

"It's good to finally talk to a nice guy for once," she replied. "Right, Yoru?"

"Right!" Yoru agreed happily, nodding his head.

At that moment a tall and tough looking student stopped the trio in their tracks, accompanied by two of his friends.

Yoru looked the most terrified, almost running off instantly. But he didn't. He had to stay by Kage's side.

"Going somewhere with the new kid?" the tall student asked.

"This isn't a good time, Tyrone!" Yoru retorted shakily, wanting to get away from the boy as soon as possible.

Nate would have smirked proudly. This must have been Tyrone Akita, the boyfriend of Hana Mutato.

"Why not, shorty? It's lunchtime, and you know what we want," Tyrone said. Yoru knew what he was asking for. Money.

"Not this time!" Yoru refused.

Nate kept a mental note of Yoru's response. "Not this time"? It sounded like Yoru was planning to kill Tyrone with his newfound power at some point.

Tyrone laughed loudly, as did his two friends. Kage stepped forward, her expression dark as she glared up at the taller boy.

"Leave him alone," she commanded blankly and quietly.

Tyrone continued to laugh. "What are you going to do to stop me, Grim Reaper?! You're more fragile than he is!" he mocked.

"Wanna test that theory?" Kage asked through clenched teeth.

The two boys exclaimed "Ohhhhh!" in unison, laughing at the challenge. Tyrone simply grinned.

"Go ahead, girly. Give me your strongest punch," he dared.

"Hmph," Kage responded. "Very well." She clenched her fists, pulling her right fist back as she prepared to punch the stronger male. As a farm girl she was naturally quite strong, but probably not as strong as Tyrone.

But suddenly, in the blink of an eye, Nate had rushed forwards and pounded his own fist into Tyrone's stomach. Tyrone was leaning over, winded from the blow. His two friends looked horrified and shocked, taking a few steps back as they stared at the albino.

"Someone with a body as large and muscular as yours should never challenge a woman to a fight," he stated. "It only proves that you're a coward who can't even face a worthy opponent."

Tyrone fell to his knees, still clutching his stomach and gasping for air. Nate stood over him, twirling some of his hair between his finger and thumb as the boy glared up at him painfully.

"Why don't you challenge me to a fight?" Nate challenged. "Or am I too much of a threat to you?"

There was nothing threatening about Nate, so when Tyrone regained himself he instantly went to punch the boy in the face. "You little bastard!" he spat.

Before the punch even made contact with Nate's face, Nate pushed his arm to the side before grabbing it to pull the boy forwards, then dropping down to the ground and kicking upwards so that he could strike Tyrone in the cheek.

Tyrone fell onto his side, pushing himself back onto his feet quickly. "Let's get outta here!" he exclaimed to his friends. His friends didn't think twice as they sprinted away, but Tyrone looked back at Nate angrily.

"I'll get you for this, you little cream puff!" he declared before running off with his two companions.

Nate dusted himself off blankly before turning to look back at Kage and Yoru, smiling once again to get back into character. "Sorry about that," he apologized. "I'm not a fan of bullies."

"...Thanks," Kage mumbled, actually surprised at how agile Nate was for someone of his appearance.

"That was incredible..." Yoru gasped in amazement. "Where did you learn your moves, Erwin?!"

"I've learned various forms of martial arts," Nate answered casually. "Maybe someday I'll teach you two a few moves so you can defend yourselves when I'm not around. Now come on, let's get to the lunch hall; I'm starving!"

As Nate walked on ahead, Yoru turned to Kage with a smile on his face. "He isn't that bad, after all," he decided before walking after the albino male.

"...Hmph," Kage muttered to herself before she walked after Yoru. She knew that Erwin Suda wasn't real. He was a character. Nate's true colours seemed to show briefly in that fight; he was dark, merciless and did whatever he thought was necessary to serve what he saw as justice.

And Nate River was the one Kage was playing against.

...

At the end of the day, Kage went to her locker to retrieve some books, including her Death Note. When she opened the locker door she saw Light sat on top of the pile books, looking bored. He was still wearing the same black button-up shirt and brown trousers as he usually did, though Kage hadn't expected that to change. In a way she was worried that something about Light might have changed at some point today due to Nate's appearance, but luckily nothing seemed different about him.

"You've just been sat there all day?" Kage asked quietly, even though nobody was around right now.

"...Sorta," Light answered after a pause.

"What does that mean?" Kage queried.

"It doesn't matter. Let's just go; I'm still a little tense now that Near is in your school."

"Near? You mean Nate, right?" Kage corrected.

Light sighed, sounding frustrated. "His detective name is Near. Look, let's not discuss that guy right now. We need to come up with a way to get rid of him without getting you caught."

"We"? So Light seemed to think he was part of the whole Kira thing. Technically he was, but using the term "we" seemed to imply that they actually worked together when really Light tended to just watch over Kage and pass the odd comment regarding her actions. Maybe this showed that Light was actually growing worried for Kage's safety. Or something else...

...

 _Earlier..._

While Light was waiting for the day to pass, he vanished and reappeared in the Shinigami Realm. Ryuk was sat not too far from him.

"Well, Light? Are you having fun with your new owner?" the God of Death asked in a rather sarcastic and amused tone of voice.

"Very funny," Light huffed. "Tell me, Ryuk. What will happen to me if Kage dies?"

"Kage? You mean the human girl who currently owns the Death Note now, right?" Ryuk corrected.

"Yes," Light answered, his expression stern. "What will happen if she dies?"

Ryuk laughed. "You think she's going to die because that Near kid has shown up, don't you?" he guessed. Light didn't answer, but his silence was enough for Ryuk to know that his guess was right, so he answered Light's question. "If Kage dies, she will become the next to haunt the Death Note," he explained. "As for you... well... We'll have to wait and see."

"What does that mean?!" Light snapped angrily. "What will happen, Ryuk?!"

"You'll suffer the deaths of all 124925 of your victims," Ryuk announced. Light's eyes widened in horror as Ryuk continued. "Once you die all of those deaths... you'll cease to exist completely."

The ghost of the original Kira quickly returned to the human world after Ryuk burst into a fit of laughter, looking incredibly shocked. He stayed sitting on Kage's pile of books in her locker, trying to come to terms with his inevitable fate. Light remained in the same position until Kage opened the locker at the end of the day...

 **~End of Chapter~**


	6. Refrain

**~Refrain~**

Kage sat in her room after she arrived back from school, shutting her door as she started to at last converse with Light properly.

"So then," she started, looking over at the spectre. "Now that we're no longer in public, mind giving me a detailed explanation of this Near guy?"

Light stared at her for a second before closing his eyes, floating up and onto Kage's high sleeper to sit down, his arms folded. "Near is the successor to L," he began. "Like I previously said, L was the detective who was going after me until I finally found a way to kill him. I wasn't aware that he had anyone in line to take his place, which was a fatal mistake since I became the new L. Nobody knew that L had died, but Near had addressed me as "L Number Two". He had pretty much solved the puzzle at that point, and after gathering up enough evidence against me..." Light's eyes narrowed darkly, "he set up a trap to expose my identity."

"...I see..." Kage muttered, glancing down for a moment in thought. "...Well, hopefully no nasty surprises will come with this guy, right?"

"You can hope for whatever you want, Near will definitely bring in some kind of surprises," Light told the girl blatantly. "But you're not gonna lose to him. I'll do what I can to help you stay safe and get rid of him without being suspected."

Kage raised her eyebrow. "Why would you bother helping?" she queried.

Light seemed to glare at her. "It doesn't matter," he stated calmly, floating down from the bed and onto the floor. "Just trust anything I tell you and you should be fine. Got it?"

For a moment Kage thought about it. She wasn't particularly trustworthy of people in general, and she had indeed found out about how manipulative Light was during his reign as Kira. Well, she only had a basic idea, really. But she decided that she didn't have much of a choice; she was stuck with this guy, after all, and if she couldn't learn to trust him then that would be more problematic than anything at this point in time.

So finally, after taking a short moment to make up her mind, the gothic teen nodded. "Got it," she responded.

Light had an almost sinister glint in his eyes which was thankfully unnoticed by Kage, and his smile was by no means warm or sweet. It was a subtle smirk. Perhaps he wasn't manipulating Kage like he had manipulated people in the past, and of course he was no longer a dominant human 'ruler', but he was doing this to keep himself alive for as long as possible. He knew that he'd come up with some sort of plan to avoid his inevitable fate.

...

Meanwhile, Nate River, better known as Near, has returned to a house that he would call his own home. The truth was that this house had actually been temporarily rented out specifically for this case, and Near was joined by two other associates: Tota Matsuda, a detective who worked on the original Kira case when he was younger, and Drake, a younger boy who had come from Wammy's House. Near would refer to these two as his father and younger brother for the time being, but only when he was acting in the role of Erwin Suda.

Matsuda was sat on the computer doing some research while Drake simply sat playing on his WonderSwan handheld device. Near walked in with his familiar blank expression on his face as he twirled his hair between his fingers. His entrance caught the full attention of Matsuda, but only earned a glance from Drake.

"How was the first day?" Matsuda asked out of interest. This earned an unamused glance from Near, but the albino detective answered the question anyway.

"I've already made myself acquainted with our suspects," he informed. "Yoru was quick to take a liking to me, but Kage seems a little more tense. I may as well take note of that, but I think it may just be because she doesn't like other people."

"Huh..." Matsuda responded. "But she's still a suspect, right? I mean, a lot of evidence suggests that she's guilty..."

"It could be both of them," Near reminded. "I won't say either of them are innocent until I find the one responsible for these deaths."

"And how do you plan to catch the killer?" Matsuda questioned. "You never really explained the plan to either of us..."

"Well, I'll soon reveal our real plan to them," Near explained. "I'll tell them what's really going on, and we'll see how they react. And I've got into contact with... someone you'd expect Mello to be in contact with."

Matsuda glanced over at Near strangely. "Who and why?" he asked.

"The top Mafia group in the world, located in Italy," Near confirmed. "Nobody has ever found their core hideout because the entire group never lingers in one place. They are experts at remaining undetected no matter what they do, whether they are hacking into networks or spying on particular individuals. I'm getting them to hack into the computers of both suspects."

Drake finally jumped out of his seat, looking offended. "Hey! I could easily hack into their computers!" he huffed. Near smirked slightly.

"No, Drake. You have a different job," he assured. "You're going to watch the cameras which have been secretly installed throughout the school; I installed those during the two-week break after Hana Mutato's death without anyone's knowledge."

The reddish-brown-haired boy thought about it, and then smiled happily. "I like my job," he responded, sitting back down to continue playing his WonderSwan.

Near then turned his attention to Matsuda. "Your job is to try and do some research on both Yoru and Kage," he instructed. "Try and figure out a little bit about them. It will help us get a better idea of who we're dealing with."

"On it," Matsuda nodded, turning back around to his computer. As a police officer he was able to research every citizen who resided in the country legally, but if necessary he could hack into other networks without being traced. Not as good as the Red Butterflies or Drake, but he could still do it.

"I'll continue doing my job at the school and taking any necessary notes. I'll try piecing the information that you two give me together. Then we'll find our killer."

...

Yoru returned to his home just like Kage and Near had done. He had headed straight up to his room and had flopped onto his bed tiredly, letting out a heavy sigh. The dark-haired boy was tired after today and was also relieved to be home.

But he soon caught sight of something. When he had sat up he noticed a little instruction book on his desk, and beside it was an eraser with a skull symbol on its black wrapper. Yoru tilted his head and pushed himself off the bed, walking over to the desk and picking up the eraser. He examined it strangely before placing it back down, deciding to open up the booklet. It had a similar gothic-dark style to the eraser, which at first made Yoru assume that this probably belonged to Kage. That was until he actually read the contents inside.

 _How to use it I_

 _The human whose name is erased from the Death Note shall be brought back to life._

Yoru's eyes widened as he gasped, dropping the booklet. _Death Note._ He knew that name too well. The weapon that Kira used. The weapon that killed his brother.

But this eraser... could bring people back to life if they had been killed by the Death Note?

The thought brought Yoru's hopes up. If they caught Kira, then maybe he could actually see his brother again...

But there were more rules to follow, so Yoru continued to read.

 _How to use it II_

 _No consequence will come if the human's name is erased before they are officially pronounced dead._

 _If a human is brought back to life after they have been pronounced dead, the Shinigami who erased their name shall die._

 _If a human brings back another human from the dead using the Death Eraser, the human will lose one year from their original life span._

 _How to use it III_

 _A human who has been brought back from the dead will have their original body. Fatal injuries will be repaired._

 _This rule also applies to humans who have been cremated, incinerated etc. The original body will be completely restored._

 _How to use it IV_

 _The owner of the Death Eraser has the power to request any name to erase no matter which Death Note the name has been written in, as long as the owner also owns or possesses a Death Note._

 _To accomplish the above rule, the owner of the Death Eraser must have one hand touching the Death Note and one hand touching the Death Eraser._

Yoru quickly shut the booklet before he could read it further as he believed that he had read enough. He wasn't sure whether he should smile or widen his eyes in panic, so he ended up doing a combination of both as he tried to calm himself down at the same time as trying to force out a smile of some sort. His blue eyes gazed back down at the eraser on his desk as he finally managed to smile properly.

"I must tell Kage about this..." he gasped.

...

Ryuk laughed from where he was in the Shinigami Realm, watching as Yoru accepted ownership of the Death Eraser. The Death Eraser, something barely any Shinigami would use unless they truly believed that a 'miracle' was necessary if a human deserved to live longer, 'miracle' being the human name for such an occurrence.

The God of Death knew that things would get a lot more interesting now. In the past both Death Notes and Death Erasers had fallen into the human world at some point, but never at the same time. Things would definitely be a lot more interesting now since two best friends would be thwarting each other's goals, and soon they would probably end up becoming mortal enemies.

Kage Hikari, the Grim Reaper, and Yoru Sky, the Necromancer.

 **~End of Chapter~**


	7. Relax

**~Relax~**

During class the next day, Near turned his seat around once again to communicate with Kage and Yoru.

"Hey," he said quietly, a smile on his face. "I was thinking of having you over at some point this weekend. You guys up to visit?"

"Really?" Yoru asked, sounding quite excited as he beamed with glee.

Near nodded his head. "I told my brother about you guys. He said you sound cool and wants to meet you."

"Brother?" Kage asked, holding back a laugh. She knew he was lying, but was intrigued to know who this 'brother' was. Obviously he was just part of Near's little act.

The gothic girl smiled a little. "It's sweet that your brother likes the sound of us," she responded.

Yoru seemed to have a quick glimmer of bitterness in his expression, the topic of brothers bringing up unwanted memories. But he was quick to return to smiling sweetly. "I bet your brother's really nice," he said.

Near chuckled quietly, twirling his hair absentmindedly. "He's annoying," he described. "But he's got a good heart, I suppose. Oh, and forgive him; he can be incredibly nerdy at times."

"That's fine with us!" Yoru chirped. "I'm quite nerdy myself. It's one of the reasons nobody likes me in this school. That and... many other reasons."

There seemed to be a twinkle in Near's eyes. A twinkle of interest. Yoru had just admitted that he was intelligent. That was worth noting down.

Kage listened to the pair thoughtfully. She was aware of Near's intrigued expression, but didn't focus on her thoughts for too long.

"We're both free this weekend," she confirmed. "Yoru and I never get up to much and I guess it'd be nice to get to know you, Erwin."

Near smiled sweetly and twirled his hair. "It'd be nice to get to know you, too," he responded.

Yoru had no idea that both Kage and Near's statements had deeper meanings. Of course they both wanted to get to know each other better.

They wanted to know each other's weaknesses so that they could win this game.

...

Kage entered her bedroom during the evening after she had arrived home from school, flopping back onto her chair and letting out a long, loud and irritated sigh.

"Great," she murmured. "I've got to go to a detective's house and meet two other people who are most likely working with him. Maybe even more..."

"I can't exactly make a guess on who the other guys are, but I think Near is smart enough to work with someone who dealt with the previous Kira case," Light told her. "But whether they worked on the first case or not, you need to be extra careful. Near will only recruit those he sees as capable."

Kage sat up a little so that she wasn't slouching as much, but she looked incredibly tense. Maybe even a little scared. What was Near planning to do this weekend? What if he had already decided who was guilty? Would he lock her up until she was dragged out to be killed?

Light could see the tension in Kage's body language, gliding over to her. "Hey," he said quietly, catching her attention. "Don't get yourself so worked up. If you keep showing tension, you'll look suspicious."

The gothic teen looked up at him, and slowly but surely she managed to relax herself. Her expression wasn't a glare and her shoulders seemed to lower. Though she still felt a little scared and irritable, she seemed to feel a lot less stressed.

The ghost boy smiled a little, though it was unknown why. "Good," he responded to Kage relaxing herself. "If you never tense up or act surprised, it won't look like anything's caught you off guard. Keep telling yourself that you're innocent. Eventually you'll convince your own mind that you're not guilty and therefore your acting will be a lot more genuine."

"...Thanks for the tip," Kage thanked awkwardly. She then wheeled her chair over to the desk and unzipped her school bag, taking out her Death Note. "But before this weekend comes, I wanna clear the world of more people, criminals and bullies alike." A sinister grin seemed to appear on the teen's face for a short moment. "I want the world to fear me."

This just made Light shake his head. "You're not supposed to make people live in complete fear," he clarified. "They should be afraid of committing crimes and doing bad things, not you directly." He sat upon Kage's desk as the girl opened up her notebook and started writing down the names of criminals she had remembered after watching the news today. Yes, Kage had been watching the news again this morning. Kage Hikari, the girl who despised the news channel.

"When you see religious followers, how many of them talk about their fear of their God?" Light continued. Kage stopped writing and looked up at him, seeing his vacant expression staring back down at her. For a moment the spirit stared at her as if expecting an answer, but closed his eyes as he decided to explain the point he was trying to get across.

"Whenever a religious follower is asked about what they think about their God, they answer talking about how much they love and adore them. They don't worship their God out of fear, but out of gratefulness. They say that their God brings justice to those who sin for a good reason and they respect them for that." Light's eyes glanced back at Kage, half-lidded as he brought his point to a close. "Don't let yourself be seen as a demon who is feared by all. Let yourself be seen as a goddess. A goddess who deserves love and respect."

For a moment Kage thought about Light's words, but shook her head and glared at the Death Note as she continued to write. "I'm no God, Light," she replied. "I'm not a lovable goddess. I am the Grim Reaper. I send people to hell when I say it's their time."

Light frowned, not liking Kage's attitude at all. He was about to argue back, but stopped himself. As long as she wasn't doing anything to blow her cover, then fine. He had to keep her alive for as long as possible to avoid his fate. Maybe fear and hatred were the best things to consider when taking on the role of Kira.

Kage wrote.

And wrote.

And wrote.

And wrote.

Nothing was stopping her. She wrote down the names of criminals, the names of other school students across the world who came from schools that were so far untouched by Kira's curse. While writing Kage grinned again. More people were dying. More people would recognize her actions. _This is what she wanted._

And finally, after what seemed like a long time, Kage slammed her notebook, shoved her pen in a stationary holder and flopped back in her chair, laughing quietly to herself as if she had just watched an amazing video that had made her day. Light stared at her with a questioning look, before a voice was heard from downstairs.

"Kage!" yelled the voice. "Mom's made dinner, come down before it gets cold!"

Kage pushed her chair back and stood up, glancing over at Light briefly. "Stay up here," she instructed before leaving the room and closing the door behind her. She went downstairs and sat at the dinner table next to her older brother, Raita, a light-brown-haired boy with blue eyes. He smiled when she sat down, glad that she had responded to his call so quickly.

"It's jacket potato tonight," he told her, watching as Kage eyed the steaming hot potato on her plate. "Want some butter to go with it?"

"I'll need a whole block," Kage responded seriously, standing up and heading over to the fridge. Raita chuckled and shook his head, continuing to eat his potato which he had filled with cheese.

Dinner was pleasant enough. Kage just talked with her brother and parents as she ate, and soon enough she was back in her room. Light was staring at her mobile phone which was just laying out on her desk. Kage was about to question what he was doing, but Light turned his head and gave his answer before she even asked the question.

"You missed a call from Yoru," he explained. Kage tilted her head slightly and walked over to the phone, deciding that it was polite to call her good friend back.

 _"Hello?"_ came Yoru's voice through the phone.

"Hey," Kage answered. "You called me?"

 _"Yeah,"_ Yoru responded. _"I was wondering if you could come over tomorrow."_

"Yeah, sure, I don't see why not since I drag you to my house a lot when you least expect it," Kage replied, admitting how much she dragged Yoru around to places without his consent.

Yoru could be heard chuckling. _"Heh heh. Yeah, you do enjoy having me over at the last second,"_ he stated. _"But I've got something I wanna show you."_

"Oh?" Kage reacted, raising an eyebrow to herself.

 _"I wanted to talk to you about it today, but I didn't really want Erwin to know in case I scared him or something,"_ Yoru continued. This only intrigued Kage more.

"What is it?" she asked.

 _"You'll see. But you've gotta promise not to discuss it in school,"_ Yoru responded.

"I promise," Kage promised.

 _"Thank you,"_ Yoru said in response, sounding as if he was smiling with relief. _"Well, I'll see you after school tomorrow. Have a nice night!"_

"You too," Kage concluded before hanging up. She looked up at Light, seeing that he had a look of curiosity in his eyes.

"What were you guys talking about?" he questioned.

Kage shrugged her shoulders. "Apparently Yoru's got something to show me," she recapped. "But he was too cautious to show it in school."

"Sounds suspicious," Light smirked. "Maybe he has a Death Note."

"Maybe so," Kage nodded, accepting that it was possible for Yoru to have found such a thing. "You and I will see tomorrow when we go to his house. Until then, I'm not gonna think too much about it."

Once again Kage slouched back in her chair and allowed the room to fill with silence, but suddenly her gaze was directed to Light.

"Hey Light..." she began quietly. "What will happen to you when I do eventually die?"

Light's eyes widened a little. He remembered what Ryuk had said, but quickly calmed himself and closed his eyes. "Nothing," he lied. "You don't need to worry about me. Just focus on yourself and do what I tell you to do."

"Okay," Kage shrugged, not continuing the conversation further. She didn't see through Light's lie, but if she had done she would have definitely interrogated him. The question itself had actually been bugging her for a while since she figured out that she would haunt the Death Note after her eventual death, but whether or not Light would be there with her was unknown. Light did indeed know the truth, however. He knew that he would slowly and painfully cease to exist.

"...Kage," Light said after some silence, catching the girl's attention. "How do you think it feels to not exist at all?"

The question caught Kage off guard and caused her to appear confused, but her green eyes looked in Light's direction. "To not exist at all?" she asked. "I've always told myself that not existing would just feel like never being born. Never being conceived. I used to also say that it would feel like being dead, but I guess you proved that theory wrong."

"...I see," Light nodded slowly in response, thinking about her description. He really was bothered about not existing at all, but he didn't want to give Kage anymore hints that he knew what terrible fate he was sealed to meet with. He already knew how it felt to die of a heart attack so there was no point in asking for a second opinion on how death felt, but the other deaths he caused also involved things like suicide by hanging or being hit by a truck. Those were pains he definitely couldn't imagine suffering.

And the thought of unwillingly hanging himself terrified him.

But he knew he had to shake off these thoughts. He couldn't be afraid. He had to keep strong and confident. He had to make sure he didn't screw up. Kage wasn't going to die so soon, and he was going to come up with some kind of plan to free himself from his fate. He'd find a solution. He _had_ to.

...

"Near," Matsuda called, getting the albino detective's attention. "There's a slight problem I've encountered regarding Yoru..."

"What is it?" Near questioned, twirling his hair as he looked at Matsuda's computer screen. On it there was definitely some kind of profile about Yoru, including a recent picture.

"I haven't been able to find anything about his past at all," Matsuda announced, almost sounding worried. "Nothing to do with where he was born. No childhood photos besides his elementary school ones. With Kage I've found out where she was born, her previous living locations, her biological family and I've even found pictures of her in her mother's womb. But Yoru... there's just nothing."

"I see..." Near reacted, narrowing his eyes slightly at the screen as he scrolled down the page. Matsuda was right. His record was... vague.

The white-haired teen picked up the phone once again, making sure his voice filter was on. "Saya," he greeted formerly to the leader of the Red Butterflies. "There are no birth records for Yoru Sky. No records at all, in fact. Do you think you know why?"

"It may be to do with relocation," Saya answered. "I've managed to look into his computer, and honestly there isn't anything too bad. I've listed everything down in case it needs checking, but it won't help you understand why his records are so vague."

"Relocation..." Near muttered to himself. "So you're telling me that Yoru Sky most likely isn't who we think he is..."

"I'm not completely certain, but it's the most likely possibility," Saya answered. "I'll contact you if I find anything else out that may suggest otherwise."

With that, Saya hung up and Near put his phone down. The detective's grey eyes drifted over to Drake, who was currently sat playing his WonderSwan yet again. Drake paused his game and looked up at Near with a confused expression, catching sight of his gaze.

"Drake, you have another job I think you're going to love," Near confirmed with a tiny smirk on his face. "You're going to do more research onto Yoru. Try and find out more than the Red Butterflies. Pretend it's a game: whoever finds out the most wins."

Drake grinned. "Alright!" he chirped, sliding his chair over to a desk and opening up his laptop once he had put his WonderSwan down. Now he knew he was going to have a lot of fun. Near was still smirking a little, knowing that Drake loved turning his tasks into games.

"Matsuda," Near directed. "You just focus on Kage. Drake will do further research into Yoru from here."

"Alright, Near," Matsuda nodded, turning back to his computer to start his new task.

Near continued to twirl his hair. "Yoru Sky..." he said thoughtfully. "You aren't who you say you are... Too bad Erwin Suda is playing the same game as you. Let's see who catches the other out first."

 **~End of Chapter~**


	8. Relative

**~Relative~**

School had passed the next day. The day was no different to the others since Near had arrived. The trio would go and eat lunch, get a few comments from other students and then proceed to get on with the rest of the day. Lessons were not abnormal at all. Kage had mainly been keeping her eye on Yoru, sympathetic for the boy as he had no idea what was really going on. He didn't know that Erwin Suda was the world-reknowned detective known as Near or N, nor did he even know that he was a major suspect in the Kira case. It was unfair that Kage knew exactly what Near was really up to while Yoru was still in the dark.

At the end of the school day Kage was simply walking home with Yoru. Yoru was talking to her about various things, ranging from Near being a nice student to star correlations being absolutely fascinating. Kage pretended to be engaged in all conversations, but really she was still worrying for Yoru's safety; if he truly did now possess a Death Note he'd be in a lot of trouble. Kage couldn't stand the thought of Yoru being dragged away for crimes he had no true awareness of.

Light walked through the air by Kage's side, watching as Kage nodded her head and gave short responses to Yoru's enthusiastic discussions, but he wasn't really paying attention to either of them. His mind was on his own safety. There had to be a way for him to avoid being erased from existence. Maybe he could make a deal with the Shinigami King...

"Alright, we're here!" Yoru chirped as the two students approached his front door. His house was small and out of the way of most other houses, so it was rather cozy. Once the front door was unlocked the pair wandered into the hallway and removed their shoes before heading up to Yoru's bedroom. Yoru seemed pretty smiley while heading up to the room, but once he shut the room's door his face automatically shifted to a serious expression.

"I'm going to show you something that nobody else is allowed to see," the boy stated.

That very sentence was enough to make Kage tense up.

Your fumbled around in the drawer of his desk before pulling out a booklet of some sort, along with what appeared to be a small eraser. Kage tilted her head slightly but her hands clenched into discreet fists while she sat on the floor, waiting to see what Yoru was going to reveal to her. For a moment she thought that the booklet was going to be a Death Note, but then she saw what it really was when Yoru finally sat down and lay both items in front of her.

An instruction booklet.

And, for some reason, an eraser.

The symbol on the eraser matched the skull symbol found in Kage's Death Note, making the girl widen her green eyes. She glanced back up at Yoru, who was now sitting directly opposite her with a deathly-serious expression on his face.

"I returned home from school not long ago and found these in my room," he explained quietly. "Apparently the eraser can erase names from a Death Note. If we can catch Kira... we can erase all the names he has written in his Death Note!"

Kage read the rules as Yoru spoke, her eyes wide with horror. This eraser... was capable of bringing back anyone from the dead if their name had been written in the Death Note? Any Death Note?

Maybe Kage could bring back Yoru's deceased brother.

Or maybe...

"So what do you think, Kage?" Yoru asked, snapping the girl out of her thoughts. "I know it looks crazy at first, and I know a lot of people don't believe Death Notes exist, but... we can be heroes if we bring back everyone who Kira killed! Maybe... maybe even everyone who was killed by Light Yagami!"

Light's eyes were quick to lock onto Yoru, even though he hadn't really been paying attention to the conversation. He grit his teeth, looking as though he intended to snap at the teen before quickly calming himself down. After all, Yoru couldn't see or hear him. Yelling at him was pointless.

Kage stared at Yoru for a moment before placing the booklet back on the floor in front of her. "If these rules are true then you clearly didn't read them thoroughly," she spat. "You'd be a fool if you just erased every name in the Death Note, and if you tried to bring back Light's victims..." her eyes narrowed as they met with Yoru's, "then you'd pretty much be killing yourself."

"I don't care!" Yoru shot back, appearing quite emotional. The sudden raising of the boy's usually-soft voice didn't catch Kage off guard since the gothic female knew that Yoru had a personal grudge against all Kiras. There was silent for a moment before Kage sighed quietly and Yoru eased himself.

"...Sorry," the young male apologized, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. "...Light Yagami was the first Kira... and I know that he's responsible for my brother's death..."

Tears were already in Yoru's eyes. This sight alone was already enough to make Kage soften her expression, sympathy taking over. Yoru was her only friend. He had been there throughout her childhood and he had never left her side. He would protect her and in return she would protect him.

And Kage would do anything to make Yoru happy.

It dawned on Kage that she had the possibility to bring back Yoru's brother since she had her Death Note in her school bag, but how could she possibly explain to Yoru that she wasn't Kira if she showed him the notebook?

...But maybe it could be possible to trick him. Yoru may have been the sibling of some "amazing detective", but nobody would believe it. Despite his intelligence, he didn't seem to recognize lies and bluffs very easily. That's why a lot of people bullied him - because he was easily fooled.

And if Kage ever told Yoru anything, he would believe her without question.

Light could see that Kage had a thoughtful expression on her face, causing him to narrow his eyes. He didn't know exactly what she was thinking, but right now she looked sympathetic for the twit who hindered her progress to becoming the new Kira. If Kage slipped up because of him, Light's future was doomed.

The spectre's mind was currently focusing on the Death Eraser, this new stationary item which Yoru had revealed. He was rather curious of what it did, knowing that anything from the Shinigami Realm had to come with a price. But if it could bring back anyone who had previously died due to having their names written in any Death Note as Yoru had stated...

Could Light return to the world of the living?

That was something he would talk to Kage about later. Maybe she could somehow take the eraser from Yoru and do whatever was necessary to bring him back from the dead. All Light had to do was ask her nicely; with most women he had encountered the power of charm had always won.

Kage finally decided to speak up after she stared thoughtfully at her tearful friend, having come up with a little white lie to tell the boy. She was no genius like Light, but lying was easy for her. And she intended to do something that would benefit Yoru over anyone else.

"...Yoru," the girl began, catching her companion's attention. Yoru looked up, watching as Kage rose up to her feet and wandered over to where she had dumped her school bag. She knelt down and unzipped the bag, reaching inside it to grab her Death Note.

Light watched her, his eyes widening when he realised what she was up to. "What are you doing?!" he snapped. "Kage, if you show him that then he'll call the police! Are you nuts?! You'll doom us both!"

Kage intended to ignore Light, but she couldn't help but freeze for a very brief moment when he exclaimed his last sentence.

"Doom us both".

It sounded as though Light knew more about his own fate than he had originally stated. If Yoru wasn't in the room Kage would have quite happily turned around and started questioning Light right now, but she didn't. Instead she grabbed the Death Note and yanked it from her messenger bag, walking back over to Yoru before dropping it in front of him.

There was silence.

Yoru stared at the notebook before him, his eyes wide in an innocent manner. It seemed to take more than a minute for him to let this sink in.

Kage had a Death Note.

The blue-eyed boy looked up shakily, seeing his blank-faced friend looming over him in an almost terrifying way. For once he was terrified of her. Was she Kira?

"I found this in the girls' bathroom at school. I didn't want to mention it to you or Erwin because I thought it was left by one of the students one or two years below us. To me it just seemed like one of those books people use to write down the names of everyone they hate, but... I realised that the names in here... were of people who died."

Kage took a seat in front of Yoru once again, watching as he hesitantly picked up the Death Note and stared at it. He flicked through the pages and saw every name, starting from Hana Mutato. Each of these names was indeed the name of someone who had died in the past.

Kira was in their school.

"Someone in our school is obviously the new Kira," Kage continued. "Boys don't usually go into the girls' bathroom, so I bet whoever killed all those students is female." The teen girl leaned closer to Yoru, causing him to look at her with a horrified expression. One of true fear.

"But my mind isn't on catching Kira just yet. I'm still a little skeptical, but if this is a real Death Note and if that eraser does indeed have the power to resurrect any previous Death Note victims...

"Then you can bring back your brother."

Yoru's pupils seemed to shrink at the realization. According to his instruction booklet, it was possible. All he had to do was say his brother's full name while holding both the Death Eraser and the Death Note, and erasing his name would only take away one year of his life.

Already Yoru had thrown away any sudden thought that Kage might be Kira. A real Kira would never offer to bring back someone who had previously been killed by a Death Note, and Kage would've told him from the start if she killed someone without realising it would truly happen. He knew Kage. She would go to him and freak out if she did something wrong, albeit she'd try her best to hide her emotions. The day Hana Mutato died, Kage just reacted like everyone else. She was innocent. He was sure of it.

"...My brother..." Yoru murmured quietly. The thought of having his brother back by his side made his heart beat fast. He was only eight when his brother was murdered by Kira, and even then he hadn't even known him for that long. As a very young child they had been separated, and only a few months before his brother's death were the two finally together again.

This could be their chance to reunite for good.

"...I'll bring him back," Yoru declared, his voice still quiet but getting a little louder. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he stared at Kage, the eraser tight in his grasp. "He was a good detective! He can help find the current Kira! I don't care how old they are... murder is always wrong and worth punishing! My brother will prove that!"

He grabbed the Death Note with his other hand and started to cry softly, trembling as if he had just seen a Shinigami. Through his broken weeps Kage heard Yoru mutter a name. A foreign-sounding name. This didn't surprise her too much since Yoru wasn't fully Japanese, and any distant sibling was bound to be from elsewhere in the world. Why else would the two be separated for such a long time?

The name appeared and Yoru erased it, the tension in his arm almost making him scrape the page so hard that it would tear. When the name was gone, the two sat in silence.

The two, but with Light included.

Kage actually felt a chill at the sudden silence, especially since now even Light wasn't talking, so she decided to speak. "It's obvious that he's not just gonna walk through the door," she confirmed. "He'll be where he's buried. And he may not even consider coming straight here..."

Yoru looked rather sad for a moment. "...Y-You're right..." he stuttered. But then he smiled tearfully at her. "But he's alive. That's all that matters."

Kage smiled back after a brief paused, her smile small and gentle. Seeing Yoru happy made her happy, after all.

Light, on the other hand, was furious.

...

White shirt grey from age with patches of dirt staining it. Jeans mucky and uncomfortable to wear. Black hair tangled with mud and filth, having become greasy over the years. His skin was pale and his eyes seemed to sink into his skull, dark bags underneath them.

This was the first man to walk the Earth with a second chance of living.

"One Shinkansen line ticket. No return."

He made this request at the nearest train station after taking some money from a cash machine.

The best part about being an anonymous figure: those who know you tend to bury you with your credit card, ID and other important documents if they don't want to destroy them.

He sat down on his given seat and stared out of the window.

He'd reach Kyoto in no time.

...

Hours had passed and finally at about seven o'clock Kage decided to head home. She had spoken to Yoru about the Death Note and said that she would hold onto it for now in case her best friend was found with it, also because she was worried that Yoru would erase all of the names he could see and think of. To convince Yoru that she was not Kira she promised to always show him the notebook when he came over to her house to see if anymore names appeared between their visits.

Of course, Kage had prepared for a scenario like this beforehand. She had ripped out as many pages from the Death Note as she could before deciding that she had enough, so the notebook would remain untouched regarding its pages.

Light walked beside Kage as she headed home, his cold brown eyes locked onto her as if she were his enemy. "You could've made him extremely suspicious," he growled. "What if he called the police? You could've been arrested. No... you could still be arrested. All he needs to do is dial the emergency services. Maybe he was waiting for you to leave."

"I know Yoru more than you do, Light," Kage responded quietly as she walked. "He's gullible and he believes pretty much anything I tell him."

"Still, you need to be more careful," Light clarified.

That was when Kage stopped walking, a stern look on her face. "Why?" she finally decided to ask.

"Isn't it obvious?" Light asked. "You'll get yourself killed if you screw up."

"Earlier you said that we'll both be doomed," Kage reminded, her eyes narrowed. "So do you know what will actually happen to you if I die?"

Light's expression was vacant as he stared back at Kage, a frown slowly appearing before he closed his eyes and looked away.

"...Why does it bother you, anyway?" he responded. "You should worry more for yourself, not me. If you die, you will definitely be stuck haunting this Death Note. Do you want that to be your fate?"

Kage hesitated to respond. "No, but-"

"Then don't die," Light concluded, interrupting the living Kira. "If you wanna live for as long as possible I suggest you start being a lot more careful; you already have Near keeping his eye on you and now you have some detective who will probably try going after you. It's about time you started being more tactical."

"...Very well," Kage sighed as she continued to walk with the ghost beside her. There was silence between the two before Kage caught sight of a man walking in the opposite direction ahead of her. He was hunched over in a creepy way, hands in his pockets as if he was hiding something like stolen money or a knife.

Immediately Kage could feel herself panicking, but Light seemed to tilt his head to the side as he walked. The darkness of the night made it difficult to see what the man looked like, but he looked rough.

"...Be careful," Light muttered quietly to Kage, even though he could tell that she looked defensive already. Her green eyes were wide with panic as she picked up her walking pace, hoping to walk past the man as quickly as possible.

But the man actually stopped just in front of her, and to Kage's surprise, he didn't seem so rough after all. He seemed weird and creepy, even after getting a better look at his face when he was close enough, but he didn't seen to be a threat. He was just a young man who probably had a bad day.

Though the dirt on his clothes and in his hair did catch Kage's attention.

"Excuse me," the man said, sounding rather polite and well-spoken. "Does Yoru Sky still live at number eleven at the end of this street?"

Kage was caught off guard by the sudden question since she wasn't expecting it, but she gave the man the truthful answer. "Yes," she told him. "I've just come from there actually. Do you know where you're going or do you need directions?"

"No thanks, I just needed to know if he was still there. Thank you for telling me," the young man responded. "...I'm assuming you're a friend of his from school?"

"Yeah," Kage answered. "We've been friends for years." The girl's eyes narrowed once again, but this time ever-so-slightly. "How do you know him?"

The man was silent for a moment before he found his response. "He's a relative of mine."

"Relative, huh?" Kage reacted with a slight smile on her face. She knew exactly who this was.

Yoru's older brother.

"Well, I'll let you get on your way," Kage said. "It was nice to meet you, I had no idea that Yoru had other relatives. Ask him if you can get yourself cleaned up, too; you look pretty rough."

"Yes, I do look rough indeed," the man mumbled, mainly to himself. He sounded rather confused, but to Kage this was understandable. After all, he had just come back from the dead.

"Have a nice night," Kage said to him with a smile on her face, almost too polite in her words. She continued to walk back to her home as the man wandered in the other direction, his back still not straight. Who knew that Yoru's brother was so... creepy? Sweet and kind, but definitely creepy.

Kage glanced at Light as she continued her walk, seeing that he had the face of a traumatized child. His eyes were wide and his pupils had shrunk, and he almost seemed to be shaking either out of fear of out of anger. It was hard to tell.

The gothic teen tilted her head to the side. "What's the matter?" she asked.

Light slowly turned his head to face her as he walked. "I don't think you realise which detective Yoru is related to," he admitted. Kage seemed confused at first, looking back as she saw the young man walking further down the street. She gazed at him for a while before looking back at the Death Note's ghost.

"I don't understand," she replied honestly. "That guy didn't look like a detective of any sort."

"The best detectives wear the best disguises," Light explained.

And that's when Kage realised who the man was.

 **~End of Chapter~**


	9. Reunion

**~Reunion~**

Kage stopped walking when it dawned on her.

Killed seven years ago.

Long-lost brother to Yoru.

Amazing detective who worked on the Kira case.

Yoru's brother was the real man Light had feared.

L.

...

"There's nothing I can find out about Yoru," Matsuda confirmed to Near. "There's just... nothing. All his online profiles are vague and his legal files have a lot of blank spaces... and the Red Butterflies haven't contacted us to tell us that they've learned anything new."

"Yoru having empty documents gives us a better reason to suspect that he is the new Kira," Near stated in response. "For all we know he could've erased all of his personal information somehow to avoid being discovered. It sounds too complex for a school student, but I've seen it happen before, not to mention that I myself knew how to do such things when I was fifteen."

"It's not that impressive," Drake added as he played some old game on his WonderSwan. "I could hack through proxies and firewalls when I was nine. Or eight. In fact maybe even younger."

Near and Matsuda both looked at Drake as he spoke, but they were not at all interested in his discreet gloating. But his statement did back up Near's idea that Yoru had possibly hacked the system.

"So if an eight-year-old is capable of doing such a thing, I would definitely not be surprised if Yoru did indeed erase a lot of his files or edit them at the least. But we still do not have enough evidence to prove that he is the new Kira. Kage is still a likely suspect, but again we don't have enough evidence against her, either." The albino young man played with a strand of his hair. "Until we have solid evidence that either one of them is Kira, we cannot jump to any conclusion. Drake, you will continue to watch the surveillance footage while I am at the school to see if you can catch either of the two suspects acting unusual. Matsuda, you can continue to find out information on both of our suspects as you were doing before. Oh, and if the phone rings it will most likely be the Akacho."

"The Akacho?" Matsuda queried, unfamiliar with the name.

"That's the name given to anyone who leads the Red Butterflies," Near explained. "I believe that not too long ago the previous Akacho died and his only child has taken over the role. Until he tells us some useful information regarding our two suspects, I'd say he's not living up to the standards of his father. But I will be patient. The Red Butterflies have always lived up to their name, even as individual members, so I doubt they will fail us. The Akacho is probably waiting until he has enough useful information to tell us instead of something not of any importance."

"Still think I could've hacked those computers faster..." Drake mumbled as he continued to play on his WonderSwan.

Near smirked slightly when hearing Drake's remark. It was likely that Drake was a fast and professional hacker, but Near knew that the one-eyed boy was defiant. Telling him not to do something would eventually lead him to do the exact opposite, so if the Red Butterflies truly couldn't find out enough information in time, Drake would end up catching up to them for sure in his spare time. But right now Drake had to stick to his simple task; Near already knew just how good at hacking Drake was, but he wasn't sure if he could truly believe just how legendary the Red Butterflies were. He had to see if they lived up to what he had heard.

...

Yoru stared up at the ceiling of his room, thinking about what Kage had told him. What he had found out about his friend. In a way he was relieved to know that Kage didn't think he was crazy after he explained how he found the Death Eraser, plus it was a relief to know that she had found the Death Note. She intended to keep it hidden until she could find someone to hand it in to.

Not the police. Most of the Japanese police were followers of Kira.

But a part of Yoru felt frightened. Kage was a girl who would show no mercy to anyone if she dominated them in terms of strength and power, and although she trusted Yoru greatly he couldn't help but think that he was at risk of being killed so long as Kage had the Death Note. The current Kira probably wasn't even a threat at this point since they no longer had their Death Note, but Kage did have a Death Note. A weapon which could kill any human as long as the user knew their name and face. Even though Kage had convinced Yoru that she wasn't Kira to start with, Yoru actually thought that she had the potential to continue the killings.

Bullies. Criminals. Badly behaved school students.

Kage's ideal victims if she were a murderer.

The very thought suddenly made Yoru shudder and her violently shook his head, not wanting to think that Kage could end up killing people. No... he didn't want Kage to end up being killed herself.

Even if it turned out that she was indeed Kira, Yoru could never let her die. She was his best friend, after all.

The feminine boy was removed from his tornado of thoughts as he heard a knock at the door downstairs. His aunt and uncle were out for the night so he knew that he was the only one who could answer the door. But he was scared. Who would be knocking on his door at this hour? Was it his aunt and uncle returning early from their night out? Was it Kage coming to pick up something she may have forgotten? The possibilities were likely, but Yoru had to be safe. He slipped a pocket knife of his into the pocket of his trousers before he made his way downstairs, standing on the other side of the front door.

"...Who is it?" he called silently, trying to sound casual but sounding rather shaky.

"It's me, Yoru," came the voice on the other side.

Yoru's eyes widened. Whoever it was knew his name, but he couldn't identify this person just by the sound of their voice. Though the voice did sound familiar...

Since the voice already sounded familiar to the boy, Yoru decided to unlock the door.

Who he saw made eyes widen even more as he froze in place.

Lawliet stood there before him, slouching with his hands in his pockets. His expression was as vacant as usual. As vacant as Yoru remembered. Yet somehow the emptiness in Lawliet's gaze felt... reassuring. It had been a long time since Yoru had seen it, but seeing it again actually brought a smile to Yoru's face. A tearful smile.

"L...Law...man..." Yoru spoke in a childlike voice. "Lawman" was a nickname he had called his older brother when he was much younger, and it had been a while since Yoru last said this name.

Lawliet's head tilted slightly and he looked as if he was about to smile, but he didn't. Smiling wasn't really Lawliet's specialty. But the lack of a smile didn't deter Yoru as he ran forwards and wrapped his arms tightly around the older male, face buried in his filthy shirt.

"I-I didn't think... I didn't know... I'd ever see you again!" Yoru cried with tears of joy.

Lawliet, taken back by surprise, slowly wrapped his arms back around Yoru, but only for a brief moment before he ruffled the younger male's hair. He saw Yoru's dark blue eyes gazing up at him, tears trickling down his pale cheeks. Lawliet's stare remained unchanging for a moment.

And then he smiled.

"You've grown up since I last came to see you," the detective spoke softly.

Yoru giggled, wiping the tears from his eyes with the sleeves of his black jumper. "Y-Yeah..." he responded almost shyly. "I-I last saw you seven years ago... a-a few months before..."

"Before I died," Lawliet finished blatantly. The words made Yoru flinch and tear up at the memory. Lawliet's last visit. He had worked hard for months trying to figure out who Kira was, and in the end Kira killed him. At the time Yoru had no idea what would happen to his older sibling, but looking back at the final memory he did recall Lawliet talking about the sound of bells slowly getting louder...

Lawliet's expression returned to his usual one which was difficult to read by many as he gazed up at the sky. "I'm finding it difficult to understand my very reason to being here," he admitted, glancing back at the younger male. "I died seven years ago. The last thing I saw was Light Yagami grinning at me as I passed away in his arms. No doubt a lot of things have happened since then, such as his possible arrest..."

"They killed him," Yoru added, gaining Lawliet's full attention. "Six years after your death... they finally killed him... Your death was avenged..." The teen clenched his fists and grit his teeth. "I wish I was there to watch the bastard die myself..."

Lawliet stared at Yoru with his still-vacant expression, and after a pause he lay a hand upon the boy's shoulder. Yoru snapped out of his psychotic thoughts and looked at his older sibling, almost ashamed to sound so heartless.

"You let your emotions take over too much," Lawliet stated as he let his hand return to the comfort of his pocket. "Don't let such things happen. Soon enough you'll be sentencing innocent people you hate to death and protecting guilty people from the death sentence because you love them."

Yoru stared up at his older brother with a surprised expression, though he still seemed ashamed of himself. "...But... surely you must hate Light... after what he did to you..." he responded hesitantly.

Lawliet stared down at him, thinking about it for a moment. True, he did not like Light, especially after what had happened. But he didn't despise him, either. In fact, Lawliet had no opinion on the student. He was simply a suspect who was either innocent or guilty, and from the very beginning Lawliet knew that Light Yagami was guilty.

"...I did not hate Light Yagami," the detective answered. "I never did and I don't suppose I ever will. After he killed me I suppose it would be natural to hate him, but you need to put yourself in his shoes. He was a school student who discovered a supernatural weapon. A new type of inhuman power. One item with the power to magically kill any human being he desired... it's not like he understood the consequences completely. After all, nobody knew anything about Death Notes. No laws said that they were an illegal weapon, and no consequences were planned for those who used one. So when Light reduced crime rates and killed criminals for a good purpose, he must have been terrified when I came along and threatened to have him killed. One of us had to kill the other in the end."

Yoru thought about his brothers words, glancing down at his feet again. Perhaps his brother did have a point. Light had simply accepted Lawliet's challenge, but even still he should have known that what he was doing was morally wrong. Murder is wrong no matter what.

...But some could argue that execution is a form of murder, so maybe Light had been doing what the justice system had been doing all along.

Yoru grimaced and shook his head, not wanting to even consider Light's actions as remotely just. However, Lawliet could see Yoru arguing with himself and decided to intervene.

"You're trying to see both sides of the story, aren't you?" he asked. "You're looking at it from my side and Light's side, but I can tell that you don't want to see things this way. Unfortunately this is what you need to do as soon as you involve yourself in the world of justice."

Again Yoru looked up at his brother. Was he now part of the world of justice? Yoru did have a strong sense of justice and was highly intelligent, but he couldn't see himself taking on a similar role to his brother's. He was four years old when Lawliet had him removed from Wammy's House, and for the four years up until the two brothers reunited Yoru had found interest in other things such as singing and star-gazing.

"Let's go inside," Lawliet said suddenly, shuffling past Yoru. "I assume that you must have a kettle. I'll make us both some tea."

Yoru watched him walk past, eyes still a little wide with shock at the sight of his brother alive. Nonetheless he did follow the older male, closing the front door behind him.

It seemed that they had a lot to talk about.

...

"He's back," Light said to Kage as soon as the pair were back in Kage's bedroom. "L... is back."

"L... The guy you were on about before..." Kage recalled thoughtfully.

"That's it. May as well go kill yourself now before either him or Near reaches you. No... I bet they'll end up working together on this. Two great detectives... working together to catch a fifteen-year-old psychopath."

"No need to use that tone with me," Kage growled in response, recognizing Light's insult. "Besides, I thought Near was the main problem. He's the one who exposed you, after all."

Light shook his head. "L died because he knew that his death would lead to one of his successors taking his place, and that successor knew that the replacement L had to be Kira. Well, it's more complicated than that, but still. L is the true genius behind all of this. Without him, Near is a nobody."

The explanation left Kage in silence for a moment before she took a seat by her desk. She was already starting to feel a little cornered, but she didn't let that frighten her just yet. "I can handle this," she assured the ghost. "I may not be a genius like you, but I can lie. I'll feign innocence. Besides, you're also forgetting that I helped bring L back to life. L owes his life to me, and as long as I direct his attention towards someone else I'm sure I'll be safe."

Light stared at Kage strangely, looking quite frustrated and tense before he growled out a small sigh. "If you say so..." he grumbled. "...But I don't trust your reliability. If you screw this up..." The ghoul's expression darkened in a rather terrifying way as he loomed over the gothic girl. "...I'll let you know about it." With that semi-threatening conclusion Light glided swiftly through Kage's body and vanished, presumably returning to the Shinigami Realm for some alone time. Kage didn't seem to feel as though she was in any danger, whether the danger was coming from L and Near or Light.

All she knew was that she had to up her game.

 **~End of Chapter~**


	10. Retrieval

**~Retrieval~**

Lawliet sat by the dining table, sitting on the chair with his legs pulled close to his chest. He dropped a couple of sugar cubes in his cup of tea as he stirred the brew, appearing so casual as though he had never been dead.

Yoru, on the other hand, was just staring at Lawliet from his seat. He sat with his cup of tea grasped in both hands, blue eyes locked onto his brother as he watched the man's pale hands stirring his own tea. Yoru was still in shock to see his brother alive and well, but the silence was dragging on for too long. Lawliet wasn't the kind of person to start a conversation, so Yoru decided that he had to be the one to bring an end to the sound of nothing.

"...So... do you remember being anywhere? Y'know, after you died?" he asked. This earned a strange glance from Lawliet as the older male stopped stirring his tea.

"...No," he answered simply before finally taking a long sip from his cup. He noticed that Yoru seemed disappointed and scared about life after death, so continued to speak in order to put the boy's thoughts at ease. "But that doesn't mean that nothing was there. You brought me back from the dead, so my soul must have been somewhere."

Yoru glanced up at him. "Huh? Oh... I suppose you do have a point there," he responded. "Maybe you lost your memories of the afterlife when you came back to life!"

"That's a possibility," Lawliet accepted the theory. "But nobody knows for sure until they die and stay dead." His black eyes glanced at Yoru, his expression still empty. "So. Do you know anything about my resurrection?"

The question caught Yoru off guard. "Huh? Oh! About that, heh heh..." The boy scratched the back of his head nervously as he wore a nervous grin, unsure of how to explain what actually happened. Lawliet knew what a Death Note was - Kira's weapon. If he told him that he came into contact with a Death Note then he may react badly...

No, he had to tell him the truth. Lawliet hated liars, even though he had told a few lies himself.

"...You see... I came home from school the other day and found this weird eraser in my room," Yoru began. "It came with an instruction booklet..."

"May I see the eraser and the booklet?" Lawliet requested. Yoru's eyes widened. At first he wanted to say no, but he decided that it would be better to just say yes.

"Yeah, sure. Wait here and I'll bring them both down..." he said, standing up and heading up the stairs to his room. He fished around his drawer for the two items before claiming them both and heading back downstairs, placing them down in front of his sibling. Lawliet examined both objects as Yoru sat back down opposite him. He seemed blank and calm at first, but upon reading the booklet he slowly frowned and looked in Yoru's direction.

"Do you possess a Death Note?" he asked blatantly. His words were emotionless as always, but Yoru still flinched at the question.

"...No..." he answered quietly. "M-My friend said she found one in the girls' bathroom at our school... S-She suggested that I should use it to bring you back..."

There was a glint in Lawliet's eyes. "Does she still have the note?" he queried.

"...Well... yeah..." Yoru stuttered.

Lawliet frowned before taking another sip from his hot tea. "How many people have died of heart attacks recently?" he interrogated.

Yoru hesitated to respond, almost shocked that the other male had already come to the conclusion that there was a murderer on the loose. "...U-Um... w-well... O-On the news a lot of people were reported to have died of heart attacks..." he began. "A-A lot of them are students with bad reputations... b-but some are also criminals..."

"So there is another Kira on the loose," Lawliet concluded, almost speaking through clenched teeth. "Criminals and students... Students who don't follow the school rules... In other words... Kira is killing bullies."

"The first one was from our school..." Yoru added. "Hana Mutato... a girl who was nasty to a lot of people..."

Lawliet placed his hands on his knees as he stared at Yoru. "So the Death Note was found in the girls' bathroom at your school by a friend of yours," he recapped. "So Kira is obviously a student from your school who is female."

"Kage and I already came to that conclusion," Yoru told his brother.

"Kage is the friend who found the Death Note, correct?" Lawliet assumed.

"Yes," Yoru nodded. "We both examined the notebook and found the names of everyone who has been killed so far, starting with Hana. Currently Kage is keeping the notebook at her house until she finds someone to hand it in to, but the Japanese police have always agreed with Kira's methods since Light Yagami's killings."

"No. They're not fools," Lawliet disagreed. "Whoever this new Kira is - this female school student - she is not killing because she believes in justice. She is killing because she wants revenge."

"Revenge?" Yoru asked. "By killing people she doesn't even know?"

"She is killing school students with a bad reputation because she gets bullied," Lawliet theorized. "She started off by killing someone who was currently bullying her, and to keep herself hidden she started to kill other bullies in different schools by looking at school records via the internet. Because of her new power she then decided to kill anyone she saw as a bad person out of pure anger, including criminals."

"...That sounds about right..." Yoru gasped quietly, amazed at Lawliet's deductive skills. But he didn't know that Lawliet already had a suspect in mind.

"Was Kage bullied in the past?" the detective questioned.

"Huh?" Yoru responded. "Um... yeah, she was. Her and I both get bullied a lot."

"Did Hana Mutato bully you or her?" Lawliet asked.

"She bullied us both," Yoru answered. "Mainly Kage, though. She bullied Kage way back in elementary school, too."

"I see..." Lawliet murmured, taking the final sip from his cup of tea. "Does Kage ever demonstrate violent behaviour? Or perhaps does she even express violent thoughts?"

"Sometimes," Yoru replied, but then his eyes widened as he stared at Lawliet. "W-Wait, you think Kage is Kira, don't you?!" he realised. "Lawliet, Kage isn't...! She'd never...!" He was struggling for words, but the hesitation only seemed to further prove Lawliet's theory right. Yoru was struggling to call Kage an innocent person because even he knew that Kage had a dark personality. She got into both verbal and physical fights at school. She dressed in dark clothes and often expressed her anger and hatred towards certain individuals, so she was hardly a sweet girl.

"I'm not saying that she is Kira, but I do think that she is a likely suspect," Lawliet explained. "But that may be because she is the only person that I _can_ suspect considering that I don't know anyone else from your school." He then had an idea, pausing for a brief moment before he decided to tell it to Yoru. "Tomorrow is a school day, correct?"

"Correct," Yoru confirmed.

"Then I want you to start making a list of everyone you think could be a possible suspect. I'll do my research from here, if that's okay with our aunt and uncle."

"Crap, I forgot about them!" Yoru gasped. "They'll freak out when they see you!"

"Explain the situation to them. It may be unbelievable, but a lot of circumstances have been unbelievable ever since the appearance of Death Notes seven years ago," Lawliet instructed calmly. "If I can stay here to do my research then I will be looking at the profile of each student currently attending your school. I'll make my own list of likely suspects, and when we compare our lists I want to see if we have any matches. Anyone who is on both lists will be added to a shorter list of fewer suspects."

"Right," Yoru nodded, smiling a little to himself. The idea seemed like a good one, albeit simple. And he was happy to feel like he could be useful to Lawliet. No, he was happy that he could be of use to L.

Lawliet frowned once again, however. "The task may be simple, Yoru, but now that the existence of Death Notes is known people may end up suspecting you if you start writing down names," he warned. "And judging by your personality, you yourself are a likely suspect to anyone else who may be investigating you."

Yoru just laughed. "Don't worry, Lawliet, I haven't seen any secret agents following me around just yet," he assured. "Besides, who could possibly be a rival to your intelligence?"

...

The phone was ringing, catching the attention of the albino detective. He reached for it and made sure to switch on his voice filter.

"This is N," he greeted.

 _"N. It's the Akacho speaking,"_ came the voice on the other side of the phone, the voice altered by a lower-pitched voice filter. _"We have thoroughly searched through both Yoru's and Kage's computers, ranging from their download history to their browser history."_

"I see," Near responded. "Did you find anything interesting?"

 _"A number of things,"_ the Akacho replied. _"Kage has been using her incognito tab more often than Yoru but she has been clearing her history a lot, too. We managed to uncover some of her searches."_

"And what were they?" Near questioned.

 _"She was researching Light Yagami and the original Kira killings which began seven years ago,"_ the Akacho explained. _"She has also been constantly checking online news articles and has subscribed for updates to be sent to her via email."_

"Interesting," Near muttered as he twirled a strand of his hair with his fingers. "And why do you suppose she's been doing such things?"

 _"According to some sources she does not enjoy watching the news or reading any kind of news,"_ the Akacho added. _"She finds the news boring, and she subscribed to receive news updates last week just after the killings began. But her subscription to the news isn't and her research on Light Yagami aren't the only things suspicious about her. We also found that she, despite her average IQ, managed to hack into staff-only school reports from various school websites. A lot of these schools ended up losing one or more students to Kira after these reports were accessed by Kage. If you ask me, that's enough evidence to prove that Kage is Kira."_

"There are a lot of fingers pointing in Kage's direction now..." Near told himself thoughtfully. "What about Yoru? Does anything suggest that he could be Kira or associated with Kira in some way?"

 _"The only thing that makes him suspicious is the fact that there is nothing about him anywhere,"_ the Akacho answered. _"But he has been researching all of the Kira killings, from the Original Kira to C-Kira and even the ones occurring as of now. Perhaps he is looking for inspiration while making sure nobody is suspecting him, checking all news articles to make sure that he is not a listed suspect."_

"So you've only managed to uncover his search history," Near shortened. "Yet there is still no way of knowing where Yoru originally comes from."

 _"Unfortunately no,"_ the Akacho replied in a disappointed tone.

"...No problem. Your research has still provided us with a lot of new information," Near reacted after a pause. "I'll remain in contact with you for a while longer since I have already come to my own conclusion on who Kira is, but I'll be needing your assistance to help me expose them."

 _"Understood,"_ the Akacho responded before hanging up.

Near put the phone down and glanced back at Matsuda, turning around in his seat. "We have new information," he confirmed.

"I heard everything," Matsuda replied. "So does this mean that Kage is Kira?"

"Not quite," Near told him. "It is still possible that both of them are Kira. Yoru possibly helped Kage hack into those school websites since his intelligence is a lot higher than hers. But we cannot tell if they are working together or if it is only one of them until we see how they both react in certain situations."

"Yoru Sky attended Wammy's House but was sent to live with his aunt and uncle when he was four," Drake stated as he walked into the room with his laptop in his hands, a slight smug and proud expression on his face. "According to Watari, AKA Quillsh Wammy, Yoru was removed because of a personal request made by L. Watari never revealed any information of L's request to anyone, not even to the other children of Wammy's House."

Near and Matsuda both glanced over at Drake as he spoke. Matsuda seemed surprised that Drake had found this out, but Near didn't. He just continued to twirl his white hair between his fingers, a tiny smile on his face.

"I told you that your job was only to keep an eye on the cameras," he said almost sarcastically.

"I did all this research in my spare time," Drake smiled proudly, placing his laptop down on the coffee table. "I hacked into Yoru's computer with ease, but there was nothing to suggest anything about his past. So I resorted to hacking into the almost-impossible-to-hack network found in one building in the entire world: Wammy's House Orphanage. All of the children there have one copy of their personal records and one photograph. Nothing more. But there are no records of any child's real name in the network, just the nicknames they are given. Aim, Bidet, Drake, Late, Kit, Near, Mello, Matt... and then there was Yoru. Yoru is his cover name, but from what rumours I heard his nickname is nothing like his real name when you hear it, but the meaning of it is. So he is being kept under as much cover as possible. Unfortunately the reason for his security is not so obvious, but I'm sure we'll find out one way or another."

"Hmph," Near responded, actually looked quite pleased with Drake's information. "You should be in trouble for deliberately disobeying my instructions, especially since you confessed to hacking into the Wammy's House private network, but because of the information you provided me with I'll let you off." The albino detective purposely avoided mentioning that it was his intention to have Drake take matters into his own hands, knowing that Drake enjoyed feeling rebellious. It had always been part of his nature, and in the future he knew that he had to break many rules if he wanted to dig out everyone's secrets, even if it meant hacking into the network belonging to the government, regardless of the country. Drake wasn't allowed to have boundaries with his talent because his talent was essentially illegal to begin with.

"Wow, Drake really knows what he's doing..." Matsuda gasped in awe as Drake strolled proudly out of the room with his laptop.

"He's from Wammy's House as well, of course he surpasses your level of intelligence," Near insulted as he played with his hair. "Every child there is unique and talented. Any quirk they have is never frowned upon and they are encouraged to use their habits to their advantage. But what really makes all Wammy's House children different to other detectives is the fact that they have no boundaries. They can break any law if it suits their purpose. Most children from Wammy's House leave to become great detectives using their unique talents, but others leave and use their talents in the wrong way."

A couple of names came to Near's mind as he thought about children who grew up to become relatively bad people, and although he didn't show it he was actually quite sad to have seen some people turn out the way they did. But most people were good and used their talents for the best.

Hopefully Drake would do the same, though his lack of sanity seemed to leave his future clouded. As for Yoru, he was a whole different story. Sooner or later Yoru's true past would be uncovered by any means necessary.

...

Short flame-red hair. Cold brown eyes hidden behind a blue mask. Light tanned skin. Sleeveless indigo top zipped up completely. Black leather pants. Heavy black boots. Katana strapped to back.

This was the new Tonbo.

Every other blue-wearing mafioso stood almost obediently as the short and young Italian-American walked past them, holding a black notebook.

"As of my father's death it was naturally my place to take over as leader of the Blue Dragonflies." the young adult began. "But some of you seemed to disagree with the idea of me taking over. Such a shame, Thomas Abbiati."

Thomas, the man the person was speaking of, looked inclined to react, but before he could speak he suddenly gasped for air and clutched his chest. The other members crowded around him at first in shock, but then stepped back as he collapsed onto his front and died of a heart attack. Everyone looked towards the Tonbo, eyes wide in fear.

Behind their mask, the Tonbo smirked. "He wasn't useful to us, anyway," they shrugged as they turned to face the small crowd. "But I don't intend to kill all of you for the abuse you put me through in the past. The way you'd use me for your own amusement. I just want to continue what my father started; the quest to bring down the Red Butterflies and let the Blue Dragonflies be the number one mafia group in the entire world."

The Tonbo yanked off their mask, reveling their face which had blue striped printed vertically over their eyes and a scar on their left cheek. A smirk was still on the Tonbo's face as they held the black notebook high in the air.

"With this notebook, we can become unstoppable," they grinned. "All we need to do is know the names and faces of our rivals. I'll capture Saya and have her write down the names of her own organization before I write down her name, too. Once the Red Butterflies are out of the way, we will be unbeatable! The world will know and fear the Blue Dragonflies! Every single person will cower at the name - including Kira himself!"

Standing behind the Tonbo was a salamander-like monster who remained unseen to the other group members.

A Shinigami who had dropped of their own spare notebook.

This Shinigami was known as Midora.

...

The next day was school for Kage and Yoru. Lawliet and Yoru had both discussed recent events with their aunt and uncle, which did indeed take a while for the middle-aged couple to understand. Lawliet had decided to walk with for a few minutes, engaging in conversation with his younger sibling.

"Remember, take down the names of people you think are likely to be Kira, but only write their names down when you are certain that nobody is looking at you suspiciously," Lawliet reminded.

"Don't worry, I know what to do," Yoru smiled as he walked.

"And promise that you won't let your emotions get the better of your choices," Lawliet added.

Yoru stopped walking for a moment as he thought about that, but then smiled and continued to walk happily. "Look, I won't, okay?" he assured.

"Promise," Lawliet commanded. Yoru just let out a sigh.

"I promise..." he mumbled.

"Good," Lawliet responded. "I'll be researching every student in that school myself and I'll make sure to have valid reasons for my accusations. I suggest you also prepare your arguments, too."

"Okay, okay, I will," Yoru chuckled. He then spotted Kage waiting just by the gate which led to her farm. The gothic girl waved at Yoru from where she was. "Oh! I gotta run, Kage looks like she's been waiting for me for a while!" the teen boy exclaimed. "I'll see you after school, Lawliet!"

"You should call me Ryuzaki from now on," Lawliet instructed.

"Oh! Right! Then I'll see you after school, Ryuzaki!" Yoru corrected himself before he ran towards Kage. Lawliet watched as he ran, but his eyes were quick to focus on Kage.

 _"Yeah. We've been friends for years."_

Kage was the girl he had spoken to last night when he was heading for Yoru's house. She looked so unfitting in daylight with her dark hair yet pale skin; in fact, she almost looked like a vampire. Obviously she wasn't fully Japanese judging by her natural appearance, and honestly she looked better shrouded in darkness like how she was last night.

But Lawliet noticed Kage glance back at him briefly after she started walking with Yoru, her expression similar to that of a worried frown of some sort. She was hiding something. He knew it.

And just the sight of her...

 _Ding. Dong. Ding. Dong. Ding. Dong._

He could hear the bells. They were getting louder.

And Lawliet could even remember last night that Kage was talking to herself after he had walked away.

No... she was talking to a Shinigami. She must have been.

The ringing was louder.

In fact Lawliet even recalled Kage looking back at him last night. He saw her shocked stare from the corner of his eye.

His eyes widened.

He remembered what Kage was saying to herself after he had started walking to Yoru's house. She was asking someone if something was the matter, and if it was the Shinigami then they obviously knew something about L.

Ryuk, perhaps?

No, Ryuk would never seem bothered enough to have a human ask if something was on his mind. It must have been a Shinigami with something against him.

Or something - someone - else.

The deeper Lawliet dug into his thoughts and theories, the louder the ringing became. Why? Was he getting it wrong or was he getting it right? Why were the bells ringing so loud?

Was it because Yoru was in danger?

Was it because Kage was the one putting Yoru in danger?

Was it because Kage _was_ the danger?

He had to stop thinking about it.

But the bells didn't stop.

They would only stop if he solved this case.

The young detective turned and started heading back towards Yoru's home, even with the loud sound of bells ringing in his ears. Wedding bells, funeral bells, school bells...

School bells.

 _"The Shinigami will get me! Can't you see it?! It's coming to get me!"_

 _"Bidet, calm down! There's nothing there!"_

 _"It's there! It's there! Why can't you see it when it's standing right there?!"_

 _ **"Shinigamis aren't real, Bidet..."**_

 _"Shut up! They are real, one is right there!"_

 _"Bidet, stop screaming..."_

 _"NO! I won't stop screaming until it goes away!"_

 _ **"You're scaring Yoru..."**_

 _"I don't care! He should be scared! There's a monster here!"_

 _"There is no monster!"_

 _"MAKE IT GO AWAY!"_

 _ **"Bidet..."**_

 _"MAKE IT LEAVE ME ALONE!"_

 **~End of Chapter~**


	11. Relay

**~Relay~**

It was a Friday, but not just any Friday. This was the Friday of the dreaded maths test. Kage was struggling a little, but Light was beginning to get frustrated at just how bad she was at maths. She was struggling on topics he had aced back when he was fifteen himself.

"For heaven's sake..." he growled. "The answer is eight-squared. Are you seriously this bad at math?!"

Kage frowned but then smirked a little as she wrote down that answer. Light noticed this and growled again in frustration, but then he sighed. "Question twelve: estimate the obtuse angle without using a protractor. Come on, you should be able to do this." The spectre began explaining everything almost without realizing, and everything he said was written down by Kage. Every method. Every answer. She almost chuckled to herself, but luckily she didn't. That truly would look suspicious.

Both Near and Yoru, however, were answering the questions without even needing to think about them. Near was of course a lot quicker than Yoru, but Yoru was still pretty quick. Before Near joined their class, Yoru was actually the smartest student in the whole grade.

...

Drake sat with his tablet in his hands, drinking some cola out of a can as he watched the cameras of the school. No suspicious activity so far. "They're all doing some kind of test," he informed.

"Is that it?" Matsuda asked.

"Yep," Drake answered.

"I doubt anything will happen while they're doing that test. Maybe you should take a break for a while," Matsuda suggested.

"It's better to be safe than sorry," Drake responded, propping his tablet up on the table as he placed down his can of cola and picked up his WonderSwan. "I'll leave the tablet on but I'm not gonna focus on it until I see movement. Everything is so boring at the moment."

...

Lawliet sat upstairs in Yoru's room, squatting on the chair by Yoru's desk. Currently he had about three names written down on his sheet of paper as he scrolled through the list of students, checking each report for each student. Each message passed from teacher to teacher regarding the student's behaviour.

But after a while he came across Erwin Suda, the new student.

There was no photo of Erwin because he was new and had not yet had a school photo taken of him, but there were still some comments from teachers.

 _Erwin is fitting in well at school. He doesn't struggle in any subject and is a pleasure to teach. He's sweet and friendly with all students and isn't afraid to give anyone some help. He also enjoys volunteering to help in front of some of his classes._

It seemed that Erwin was pretty smart, but what Lawliet picked up on wasn't his intelligence, but the day Erwin arrived at school. The school had closed for two weeks after the death of Hana Mutato, and on the first day back Erwin joined the school. It just didn't seem right for someone to join school after the new Kira killings began, so Lawliet decided to add Erwin Suda to his list of suspects.

...

After the hour-long test finally came to an end, everyone was silently dismissed from the classroom a row at a time. Kage carried her maths books to her locker, putting them inside in an untidy fashion. She didn't have the Death Note on her, but she did have a large wad of pages in her bag in case they were needed. Also, Light was able to stick around as long as she had at least two pages with her, otherwise he would be stuck at her house with nothing to do besides go to the Shinigami Realm.

Kage locked her locker and proceeded to walk to her next class, but caught sight of Yoru leaning against the wall. He looked as if he was writing something, and the way he looked around almost looked... suspicious.

"Yoru?" the gothic girl called. Yoru jolted in surprise and was quick to scrunch up the piece of paper, shoving it in his pocket.

"H-Huh?! Oh, hi there, Kage!" Yoru chirped, laughing nervously. "Sorry, I was just writing something out for my aunt!"

"...I see," Kage responded, raising her eyebrow a little. She didn't seem at all bothered about what Yoru was doing, but really what concerned her was the way he acted after she spoke to him. "...So, I saw your brother this morning and I saw him last night. How are things with him?"

"Oh! He's fine, we caught up a lot and now he's at home!" Yoru explained happily. "My aunt and uncle caught up with him, too."

...

"Hey, Matsuda, check this out!" Drake called, staring intensely at his tablet. The older police officer looked over, quickly pacing to the side of Drake's seat.

"What is it?" he asked, looking at the screen.

"Yoru was writing something on some paper, but when Kage walked over he looked all worried and stuff. But now they're talking about Yoru's brother being around when Yoru supposedly only had one brother who was killed by Light Yagami, or one of his associates, at least."

"A detective. I think I remember that being mentioned at some point by Near," Matsuda nodded. "Wait... are they discussing him coming back from the dead or something?! Surely that's impossible!"

"It is. But so is writing down someone's name in a notebook hoping that they will suddenly die," Drake replied, glancing up at Matsuda with his one green eye. "My guess is that some other power has found its way into our world, but instead of the power to kill it's the complete opposite."

...

"So, what class do we have now?" Yoru asked Kage with his awkward smile still on his face.

"Sociology," Kage answered simply.

"Aw, crap. Tyrone sits behind me in sociology..." Yoru complained quietly, sounding worried.

"Ask to sit with Erwin," Kage suggested. "Say he's struggling with the lessons and needs assistance."

"Are you kidding? Erwin is even smarter than I am. Like he'd need any help," Yoru responded, doubting his own intelligence.

"Yoru, you're the kid everyone goes to for help. The teacher won't think you're fooling her since you're a good student and all," Kage encouraged. Yoru just shook his head and smiled.

"I think I'll be fine," he assured. Kage frowned in a concerned way, though she let out a sigh.

"If you say so..." she shrugged, defeated. "Come on, then; we don't wanna be late."

"Right..." Yoru nodded in agreement, walking stiffly beside his friend.

"Guys!" came Near's voice. "Wait for me!" The albino boy ran up to them, joining aside of the pair.

"Oh! Hey there, Erwin!" Yoru greeted happily. "Ready for sociology?"

"I suppose," Near smiled, shrugging his shoulders. "It's an interesting subject, so I don't mind it."

"I love it," Yoru chirped, deliberately not mentioning his fear of Tyrone. Kage narrowed her eyes a little, knowing how afraid Yoru was of the boy...

...

"Do you have anything to report, Drake?" Matsuda queried as the auburn-haired young boy flicked through the different cameras while on his tablet.

"Nah, Yoru's just being awkward and tense, that's all," Drake responded while remaining focused. "Near's with 'em now, so I suppose he'll pick up on what I've seen so far, as well."

"Well, Near is a very observant detective," Matsuda pointed out.

"Yeah, he is," Drake agreed, tapping his tablet a few times. "That's why he's L's successor."

"Right..." Matsuda muttered. He still missed L and was often reminded of him when he looked at Near, but he knew that Near would never be L. Nobody would ever be L.

The silence was broken by the very quiet beeping of some kind of app on Drake's tablet, and it soon became obvious that Drake had started playing on a game. This caused Matsuda to frown.

"Hey. You're supposed to be keeping an eye on the cameras," he reminded.

"Yeah, well, Near's with the other two right now so he will be keeping an eye on them," Drake excused. "Besides, I'm only receiving my daily award. Once I get that I'll go straight back to checking those cameras." A small snicker came from the young teenager. "I don't get bored watching cameras through a tablet; it's kinda like a game in itself, don't you think?"

Matsuda glanced at him, still with a slight frown before he let out a very small sigh. "Everything's a game to you, isn't it?" he asked rhetorically.

...

The class sat quietly, listening to the teacher talk as everyone took down notes. Yoru felt his back being poked with a sharp pencil, but he managed to ignore it despite the discomfort. It was obvious that Tyrone was the one poking him, hoping to get a reaction. Hoping that Yoru would yelp and jolt so that the class could laugh and ridicule him. But Yoru wasn't going to let this happen; he was used to this by now.

Kage started taking down notes, but she wasn't completely focused. She rested her head against her propped-up hand, staring at her sheet of lined paper as she played with her pen. Tomorrow was Saturday, the day she and Yoru were supposed to visit Near's home. Perhaps he was already planning to arrest either him or her? What if he had found out that she was guilty? Or even worse: what if Near had made a mistake and was planning to arrest Yoru? She had to kill him, right?

Wrong.

If she killed him now then she'd be putting both herself and Yoru in danger. They could both be arrested for the crimes, and once arrested they would never live in a free world again.

Perhaps she could propose to help Near in the case?

No, that would be to obvious.

Or would it? If she did it right, maybe she could ask Near if she would be of use to him once he told her his real motives? No doubt Yoru would agree to help, as well. Kage needed to convince others around her that she was not Kira if she wanted Near to back off, and eventually she would be able to kill him quietly along with anyone who was assisting him.

"Kage?" came the familiar voice of Light, calmly awakening Kage from her deep thoughts. The spirit was leaning against the window casually, his expression as vacant as always. Kage didn't react to his presence in order to avoid being noticed, though she did glance slightly at him.

"Hate to break you outta your daydream and all, but your friend looks like he's having trouble," Light continued. Kage glanced over at the male who sat not too far from her, seeing Tyrone and a few of his friends sat directly behind him as they sniggered and made vicious remarks. The dark-haired girl frowned and shook her head, knowing that she couldn't just get up and march over to the boys in the middle of class.

But it was definitely Tyrone's turn to go.

Kage decided to ignore the boys for now, but saw that they fell quiet as soon as Near turned and glared at them. Near was currently known as a tough student, so nobody ever really tried messing with him. Not even Tyrone, especially after Near proved that he was not easy to frighten or attack. Kage was also very aware of the fact that Near was very difficult to frighten or attack, which is why she was distracting herself with different plans to save both herself and Yoru from his accusations.

Eventually Kage raised her hand.

"Yes?" her teacher asked.

"May I be excused?" Kage requested.

The teacher stared at Kage for a moment, but saw a familiar discomfort in her expression. The discomfort a lot of teenage girls had.

"Of course," she answered. "But be quick."

Kage nodded her head and stood up, quickly leaving the classroom. Light followed her curiously, knowing that Kage never actually left for the bathroom during school. That was just a precaution she had always taken just in case she bumped into someone who didn't particularly like her.

But Kage did seem to be heading to the bathroom, which for a moment made Light feel awkward before he noticed Kage glance back at him. She tilted her head discreetly towards the door, silently gesturing for Light to follow her inside. The gothic girl marched through the door, Light following just behind her.

"What're you doing?" he asked her, one of his eyebrows raised. He didn't need a verbal response as she pulled out her wad of Death Note pages and a pen.

...

"Kage has just excused herself," Drake narrated. "And... she's writing something on some paper. Seems she's got a lot of paper, too."

"Do you think she might be writing names down?" Matsuda asked him, though he didn't really need to ask.

"Probably," Drake shrugged. "But you never know. I mean, I think she's definitely guilty and all, but she could just be doing work. Maybe if we get that paper from her..."

"Wait a second," Matsuda interrupted, opening up a new tab on his browser. He clicked on a few links, opening up a recent news update. "There's been a sudden rise in criminal death rates."

"It must be Kage!" Drake concluded, jumping out of his seat.

"No, it hasn't been forty seconds yet," Matsuda pointed out. "And these deaths haven't suddenly occurred or anything, it's just a statistics update. I need to look into this; maybe we're investigating the wrong people."

...

Lawliet had received the same notification, opening it up on his own computer. He scanned the news article with his black eyes before opening up various other tabs, investigating the victims who affected the statistics of death rates.

They were all members of mafia organizations.

The detective narrowed his eyes. There was no way a school student would specifically target mafia members all of a sudden.

But these deaths obviously were not by the Kira Lawliet was currently trying to catch. This was someone else.

Someone who was part of the mafia.

...

Kage put her wad of paper away and left the toilet, Light following her. He remained silent, as did the gothic teenager. Light had seen what Kage had written on the paper, so knew what to expect later on.

...

"She's left the bathroom," Drake informed.

"Right," Matsuda said in response, though he wasn't exactly bothered about Kage right now. He was more bothered about the fact that suddenly a large number of criminals with mafia connections had died. Kage and Yoru wouldn't have targeted mafia members when their main targets were bullies and the occasional criminal.

"From now on, Drake, you should just quietly take notes on what you see," the police officer instructed. "I'm going to focus on looking into these mafioso deaths."

"Whatever you say, boss," Drake smirked in a sarcastic way, preparing to take notes on any suspicious details on Kage or Yoru's behaviour.

...

At the end of the school day, Kage, Yoru and Near were all at their lockers. Kage and Yoru both had lockers close to each other while Near's was quite far down the corridor.

"Walking home?" Kage asked the effeminate teen.

"Yeah," Yoru nodded as he put some books away and took out others. He smiled at his female friend once he shut and locked the door to his locker. "Let's go."

Kage followed Yoru to the school's exit, and thankfully Near hadn't showed up to remind them about tomorrow or anything. But someone even worse than Near appeared.

Tyrone Akita.

The taller boy was sneering as his friends stood behind him. At first Yoru appeared threatened and afraid but tried to seem tough.

"What do you want, Tyrone?" he questioned.

"Nothing much," Tyrone shrugged, a grin on his face. "I just want to remind you that you have no power over me. Ever since Erwin joined this school you've been hiding behind him like a little wuss, but he's not here to defend you now, is he?"

The buff teenager grabbed Yoru by his uniform's collar, yanking him closer as he raised a fist to the slimmer boy's face. He pulled his fist back, ready to punch him as hard as he could as his friends watched in anticipation, all while Yoru tried to pull free from Tyrone's grip.

"Hey," Kage hissed. "You're forgetting that I'm here."

Laughter could be heard coming from multiple people as Tyrone merely raised his brow at Kage before grinning. "You trynna act tough again, Grim Reaper?" he asked in a mocking tone of voice. Kage's expression was blank.

"Who said I was trying?" Kage responded. "You've never fought me before. I can tell you now that I'm a lot tougher than Yoru, so I won't be an easy target like him." Her dark green eyes shimmered. "Unless, of course, you prefer targeting the weak to make you, a weakling yourself, appear strong."

Tyrone appeared to suddenly be triggered by what Kage had said, marching straight to her and grabbing her harshly by the shoulders. "What did you say, you little bitch?!" he demanded, shaking her slightly. Kage almost laughed at such a lazy insult, but laughter was difficult while she was being grabbed and shaken.

"I said you're a weakling," Kage repeated calmly.

"K-Kage, stop insulting him!" Yoru cried, worried for Kage's safety.

"He tried to hurt you, so now I'm giving him a taste of his own medicine!" Kage suddenly shouted, her eyes appearing to have a psychotic glint to them now as her pupils almost appeared to shrink. The girl grabbed onto Tyrone's arms and hoisted herself up, pressing one foot against Tyrone's chest. As she lifted herself up a tiny bit further, her other foot managed to reach Tyrone's face. Pulling on his arms ultimately caused Tyrone to fall forwards, especially with the added weight of Kage hanging from him, but she grit her teeth and forced Tyrone onto his side as the pair fell. Both of them hit the ground hard, but Kage managed to finally give Tyrone a firm kick to the face.

Tyrone growled loudly and managed to reverse the grip Kage had one his arms, now having a hold of hers. He pulled her arms together and held both her wrists in one hand while using his free hand to grab her leg, pulling her foot away from his face.

Kage scrambled to get back to her feet while Tyrone was still on the ground, but the strong male grabbed her and wrapped his arm around her neck. He held her in a chokehold, preventing her from getting back up to her feet. At first Kage struggled to free herself from the hold, but once she saw how futile the effort was she ended up reaching back and attempting to scratch Tyrone's face. Again, her efforts did nothing to help her. It was at that moment when Kage decided to fling her head back, bashing it against Tyrone's chin. Both fighters were injured, but Kage did this move again. After a third time, she pulled Tyrone downwards as much as she could, and with him being distracted by the pain to his face she was able to wriggle herself out of his grasp swiftly. The girl was back on her feet now, her leg up as she kicked Tyrone in the side of the head twice before he grabbed her ankle and pulled her over, causing Kage to fall flat onto her back and bash her own head against the concrete.

"Kage!" Yoru cried out in horror, unsure of how to help his friend. Nobody was intervening, and it seemed like most people were actually enjoying the fight going on in front of them.

Near came out of the school building and saw what was going on, his eyes widening slightly. He wasn't going to intervene this time, but he wanted to see how things played out. The albino boy ran forwards and stood among everyone else, standing on his tiptoes to get a better view of what was happening since he was shorter than most of the students in front of him.

Tyrone had Kage pinned on her back, standing on her stomach with one foot as the girl desperately clawed at it and thrashed, but every time she tried to fight him off Tyrone simply pressed his foot harder against her stomach.

"You're such a fool," he spat. "Trying to take me on... who do you think you are, exactly?"

No answer came from Kage since she was struggling to maintain her strength at this point, doing her best to not scream or yell out in pain. Right now she was in agony.

"To think that a pathetic excuse for a human being is left alive while decent people like Hana are killed by whiny brats who claim to be Kira..." Tyrone snarled. "I hope one day this Kira kills you in the most horrendous way possible... you're a bitch, Kage. An unloved, corrupted bitch."

Kage stared up at Tyrone, her eyes red as they teared up the slightest bit. This time she didn't stay silent.

"No... it's people like you who Kira kills!" she snapped. "People who target the weak! People who beat the crap outta others just to put them in their place! There is nothing good about you, Tyrone! You should've died way before Hana!"

Tyrone grit his teeth, lifting his foot from Kage's stomach before stomping as hard as he could, winding Kage badly as she gasped in an attempt to scream in pain.

"Stop, Tyrone, you're going too far!" Yoru wailed, running forwards and grabbing onto the larger boy. He tried as hard as he could to pull him away from his friend, but couldn't shift him. "Get off her!" he cried. "She's a girl, for goodness' sake!"

Tyrone shoved Yoru away hard, but as he turned to approach the smaller boy he suddenly gasped and stopped in his tracks. He trembled, reaching slowly for his chest as he coughed a few times. The boy fell to his knees and coughed again, blood splattering from his mouth. Panic began to arise around him as everyone realised what was happening.

Kira had got him.

Soon enough Tyrone had fallen flat on his front, dead just like that.

Screaming and crying could be heard from everyone who had stood by to watch.

"It's Kira!"

"Kira did it!"

"What if he gets us?!"

"Everyone run!"

Yoru had frozen for a moment, but was quick to thaw himself. He ran to Kage's side and helped her sit up, tears of fear, panic and worry streaming down his cheeks.

"Kage! Kage, can you hear me?! Are you okay?!" he asked in a frantic tone. Kage just coughed and tried to nod her head, not looking like she was ina good condition to talk. "C-Come on, I-I'll walk you home... W-We need to get away from here before... before Kira gets us! I-I don't know!" Yoru heaved Kage onto her feet, wrapping one of her arms around his shoulder to give her some support. The pair started walking out of the school gates as other students either ran past them or stood calling for their parents on their phones.

Near had observed the two the entire time, his eyes wide. The reaction from Yoru seemed genuine, and there was no way Kage could have had the time during that fight to write down Tyrone's name. The undercover detective was not yet convinced that either of the two students were innocent, but this fight didn't prove either Kage or Yoru to be guilty. It was obvious that Kira was on the school campus when the fight was going on, but if Kage had the Death Note at her house how could anyone be writing names down at all? Near could only think that someone either had some pages from the notebook or maybe someone had a separate Death Note.

Right now wasn't the time to think about it, he decided. Or, at least, here wasn't a good place. He would help move the body if he wasn't undercover, but he knew that he had to behave like a school student to make sure nobody suspected him. So the young adult ran off just like how many other students had done, ready to discuss the events to Matsuda and Drake.

Light almost looked as if he was leaning against an invisible wall, floating quite a few feet up in the air. He observed Near and his reactions, almost hearing Near talking to himself in his head. Once the detective had run away, Light's vacant frown became a sudden smirk. His brown eyes were directed towards Kage and Yoru, who were both taking their time to leave due to Kage's injuries.

"Clever girl," Light said to himself.

 **~End of Chapter~**


	12. Red

**~Red~**

Near travelled back to the house he, Matsuda and Drake were renting. His expression was one of confusion as he tried to process everything that was currently going through his mind.

"Near! You're home a little later than usual. Something happen?" Matsuda queried, turning to face the albino detective. Near remained with a rather confused yet vacant expression as he stood still for a moment before walking into the kitchen to make himself a coffee. Matsuda tilted his head in confusion as the house was suddenly silent, nobody speaking. All that could be heard was the sound of the boiling kettle and Drake's WonderSwan which he was currently playing on.

Matsuda continued to work on his computer until Near entered the room again, sitting on the floor with his cup of coffee blankly. Again Matsuda turned around in his chair to face him.

"What happened today?" he asked. "Drake and I caught both Kage and Yoru doing very suspicious activities that you weren't around to witness... Do you want us to show you the footage...?"

"...Yeah," Near responded quietly after a brief pause, reaching for his hair and twirling a strand between his fingers.

"Alright. Drake, show Near today's footage," Matsuda instructed.

"Got it, chief!" Drake saluted dramatically, putting his handheld console down onto the table as he picked up his tablet, loading up the footage. The footage didn't load instantly and was taking a few minutes to start properly.

While it was loading, Matsuda gave Near a concerned look. "Seriously. What's the matter, Near?" he asked. "You don't look too good."

"I'm merely in thought," Near answered blankly, his eyes glazing over as he twirled his hair.

"What are you thinking about? Anything in particular?" Matsuda questioned.

Near's empty eyes rolled up to look at Matsuda as he stopped twirling his hair but kept the strand pinched between his index finger and thumb. "If you must know I am thinking about Kage and Yoru," he answered. "Whether they are guilty or not... I can understand someone's reason for killing school bullies if they are bullied themselves. Personally I have never been through such an ordeal since I was raised at Wammy's House where nobody really targetted anyone, but having witnessed such a horrendous act of torment today... I can't help but feel sorry for the current Kira."

Before Matsuda could respond, Drake happily wheeled his chair over to the two. "Alright! Here's the footage!" the freckled one-eyed boy chirped, allowing Matsuda and Near to turn and face him. "Look: after the first lesson Yoru started randomly writing down names on a piece of paper. When Kage approached him he quickly hid the paper and appeared quite nervous and awkward." Drake played the footage for Near, Matsuda watching as well just to have the moment fresh in his mind.

Drake then skipped to later on when Kage was in the girls' bathroom. "Not long after this, Kage went to the girls' bathroom and started writing on some paper. The camera isn't positioned behind her directly so we can't see what she's writing at all."

"Rewind it," Near demanded. Both Drake and Matsuda appeared confused as they looked at him. "Rewind the footage to before she entered the bathroom and show me it from Camera 3's perspective."

Drake did as he was told and played the footage. Kage opened the door to the bathroom and stopped for a moment, glancing behind her and nodding her head to the side as if gesturing for someone to follow her. Near smiled.

"An invisible being is following her," he stated. "It must be a Shinigami."

"Whoa, we didn't even pick up on that..." Matsuda gasped. "How did you know...?"

"It's obvious. Back on Camera 4 you could see that she opened the bathroom door but stopped for a short moment. I wanted to see why she stopped, and it seems to me that she has an invisible companion."

"Kage is definitely Kira..." Drake muttered under his breath.

"Yoru may have seemed like the more suspicious one, but everyone on his list did not die forty seconds later, and it's clear that he didn't write any specified deaths," Near explained. "...In fact... Matsuda, pause the footage at that moment and write down all the visible names on Yoru's paper. I'm curious to see what Yoru's hiding."

"Yes, Near, sir," Matsuda responded, taking the tablet from Drake. For a moment Drake pouted and reached for it, almost in shock to have it taken away from him, before he picked up his WonderSwan and began playing on that again.

But Matsuda turned back around slowly and awkwardly after he made a start on his task. "Hey, um... Near?" he began. "There's something you probably need to see before we accuse and arrest Kage."

Near looked up at the older male, appearing confused.

...

Yoru helped Kage walk all the way back to her house, appearing completely worried for his friend. She was practically limping and was grimacing in pain, but she was trying so hard not to look hurt. The boy couldn't help but feel that this was all his fault. He should be strong. He should be the one fighting to protect Kage, not vice versa.

"I'll stay with you for a while," Yoru offered as he helped Kage walk to the door of her home.

"No... I'll be alright," Kage assured him. "I'm gonna go straight to bed once I get in..."

"You sure you don't need my help at all...?" the feminine boy asked.

"I'm sure..." Kage responded. She reached into her school bag, wincing in pain as she moved, trying to fish out her house key, only to see the front door seemingly open by itself. Of course, it hadn't opened by itself at all. Raita was on the other side, his blue eyes widening as they saw the state of his younger sister.

"Kage?!" he exclaimed, sounding horrified. "Oh my god, Kage, what happened?!" The older teenager reached forwards and carefully pulled her into an embrace, looking over at Yoru. "Yoru, what happened to her?! Did someone do this?!"

"...Yeah..." Yoru replied quietly. "...T-Tyrone did it... but he had a heart attack... It was like Kira had seen the whole fight and decided to save Kage..."

"Oh my god..." Raita reacted, his voice not quite expressing the full emotion he was feeling as he stroked the top of Kage's head in a soothing way. "That's it, I don't think Kage can go to school anymore... no... they need to close the school... That school has always been poor in terms of rules and students, but I don't want Kage to see anymore of Kira's murders right in front of her... You should avoid going to school as well, Yoru..."

"Avoid school? No, I could do no such thing..." Yoru said in response. "Besides, I don't want to hide from Kira... Kira is a bad person who needs to be stopped... E-Even though Kira did indeed save Kage..."

"It's too dangerous to keep going to school," Raita confirmed. "That school needs to do something to keep its students safe, whether they are protected from Kira or, well... other students."

"I'm sure the school will be considering such precautions after what just happened to Tyrone..." Yoru stated. "Two students have now died because of Kira..."

"Hmph..." Raita replied. "Well, I'm gonna take Kage inside for now. You have a good weekend, Yoru. Stay safe, okay?"

"I will," Yoru nodded. "Take care of Kage, alright?"

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of her," Raita reassured. "I guess this means I'll be doing all of her farm duties, heh..."

"I'll see you around, Kage," Yoru waved nervously before making his leave. Raita waved back to him before he took Kage inside, sitting her at the kitchen table.

"So what happened...? Tyrone actually beat you up...?" he asked softly, sitting on the chair beside Kage's. The girl just nodded her head, not looking like she was in the mood for too much talking. Raita sighed and rubbed her back gently. "Hey... You don't need to worry about him anymore, right...?" These words made Kage glance at her older brother strangely as he smiled in a reassuring manner before he continued speaking. "You don't need to worry about that guy anymore... It looks like Kira saw what he was like and killed him for what he was doing..."

Kage looked back down at her lap slowly, mainly staring at her hands. She didn't appear reassured at all. Raita stopped smiling slowly, realising that this was the wrong thing to say when Kage had just witnessed someone die of a heart attack for a second time.

"Look... Why don't you go upstairs for now, hm...?" the older teen suggested. "Go and get comfy in your pajamas... I'll make you some tea and butter-coated toast, alright...?"

"...Alright..." Kage barely whispered as she forced herself up to her feet, staggering towards the staircase. She grabbed the bannister and began slowly pulling herself up each step. Raita watched her to make sure she didn't fall, but once she was at the top he went straight back into the kitchen to prepare some tea and toast for her.

Once in her room, Kage leaned against the door to close it completely. She then sat down on the floor, leaning back against the door as she closed her eyes and, after a few moments, let out a quiet chuckle.

"You're not so stupid after all, are you?" Light asked, standing by her side. "Near looked so confused... I think you actually helped yourself out quite a bit."

Kage smiled to herself, looking quite relieved that her plan had worked. She took out the piece of paper from her bag that she had written on while in the girls' bathroom at school.

 _Tyrone Akita threatens a student he likes to pick on at 4:20 PM. He gets into a fight with another student who challenges him. Ultimately this student is weaker than Tyrone and is eventually beaten. Tyrone begins to yell that Kira should kill the student he fought, but at 4:26 PM Tyrone dies of a heart attack._

The gothic girl mildly chuckled to herself, her chuckle quiet but sinister. Her mouth curved upwards into a smirk rather than a smile as she clutched the paper with both hands, trying as hard as she could to prevent herself from laughing loudly.

"Y'know, that's the first time I've seen you smile naturally," Light pointed out, sounding slightly disturbed. "...Your smile is probably enough to scare a Shinigami. I prefer it when you're faking it..."

Kage looked up at Light, her smirk quickly returning to her usual frown. "Yeah, like you're one to talk," she grumbled, grabbing onto her desk's leg to pull herself up to her feet painfully. Light frowned at Kage's statement, feeling rather offended as he folded his arms before a knock was heard at the door to Kage's room.

"Kage? It's me," came Raita's voice. "I have your tea and toast here. May I come in?"

The girl let herself calm down, turning slowly to the door. "...Yeah, you can come in..." she responded quietly. Her older brother opened the door, carrying in the tray of tea and toast. He placed it down on his younger sister's desk and looked at her in a worried way.

"You should rest after having this," he recommended. "Get comfortable. Get some sleep."

"I will, don't worry..." Kage uttered. Raita smiled warmly, but he looked almost in pain to see his sister injured. He then left the room and slowly closed the door behind him. Kage watched him leave before sitting at her desk, tearing into a slice of buttered toast savagely. Light watched her, still frowning. At first he wasn't acknowledged by Kage, but eventually she could practically feel his eyes on her, causing her to turn around and look at him grumpily.

"What?" she asked through clenched teeth. "What do you want?"

"It's time to move on," Light stated. "No more killing students. It's actually starting to irritate me."

"Why?" Kage queried, ripping off another piece of the toast slice with her teeth.

"You're not killing enough criminals," Light answered, sounding more agitated than ever. "They are the bad people... the _truly_ bad people. Serial killers, serial rapists... Why aren't you stopping them?!"

"No need to yell..." Kage mumbled, finishing the first slice of toast before turning around to face Light completely. "Criminals are not my top priority, Light. My views and ideals aren't like yours. I want to get revenge, and in getting my revenge I will be changing how schools are run across the world. Nobody will want to bully anyone ever again, and teachers will learn to protect their students. Don't forget that schools are the centre of future generations; changing them means changing the world in the long-run. Students will grow up and leave school, having been conditioned to treat others with respect and caution. Because of this, nobody will want to risk breaking any laws or rebelling against my ways. It'll be in their nature to just follow the crowd, and with less people turning evil... the world will become a better place without a high death toll."

"...Hmph," Light growled, his cold eyes looking quite scary for once. Scary for normal people, that is. Kage saw the fire behind his irises and felt nothing. She had grown immune to death stares over the years, and hardly any type of human scared her anymore. Not even Light Yagami, the Original Kira, could scare her.

"It's not a bad idea to try changing things from the core, but education isn't the problem," the ghost eventually spoke, looking away from Kage blankly. "Some people become rotten after certain experiences, but others are just born that way. If you avoid killing those people, they'll roam the streets freely. They'll get in the way of your little plan. Reducing the number of criminals will make it easier for you to finish what you started. You'll have less obstacles in your way."

Kage listened to what Light had to say, slowly nodding her head. "...Fine then," she replied. "From now on I'll only kill criminals. That will drive detectives like Near further away from me, and when I am no longer Near's prime suspect I will finally get rid of him for good." A tiny smirk was now on the teen's face as she picked up another slice of toast. "With Near gone... I'll be steps away from ruling an improved world." With that, the girl buried her teeth into the slice of toast and pulled off another piece to devour.

...

Yoru had taken a while to walk home, but he had finally reached his destination. He opened the door slowly and made his way in, taking off his shoes silently. It seemed as though his aunt and uncle were out again judging by the lack of shoe pairs on the shoe rack. The teenage boy dragged himself up the stairs to his bedroom, staring at his feet as he stepped. The door to his room was ajar, but no light came from the small crack besides the glow of a computer screen. Yoru traipsed towards the door, pushing it open with his hand, his blue eyes automatically on his older brother who sat squatting on the chair.

"There's a second Kira," Lawliet said as Yoru entered the room, not even turning around to face him. Yoru stopped and stared at the detective silently, feeling surprised but not physically showing it.

"...How would you know that?" the boy questioned, walking over to his brother's side. Lawliet had the statistics on the computer screen which showed the recent death toll of mafia members. Yoru stared at the screen thoughtfully, tilting his head to the side.

"As you can see the number of mafioso deaths has risen considerably as of two days ago," Lawliet explained. "I doubt this is a coincidence. The Kira we are currently investigating kills school students and known criminals, but these criminals have not been mentioned in the media recently, if not at all. This must mean that someone from within the mafia circle is wiping out their competition."

"...Seems that way," Yoru reacted quietly.

"It's hard to put a finger on who is doing this; for all we know there are multiple members committing these murders," Lawliet murmured. "Until we find out more about this Kira, our top priority is the Kira killing school students and criminals."

"How can we be sure that there isn't three Kiras?" Yoru queried.

"It is possible that there could be a third Kira killing criminals, but judging by the times of death I believe it is safe to say that the same Kira is killing criminals and students."

"...Right," Yoru nodded. At last Lawliet turned his head to the right, looking up at Yoru.

"Show me the list of names you made today," he commanded, laying his own list out on the desk in front of him. "Let's compare our research to narrow down our number of suspects."

Yoru pulled out the list he had folded up and slipped into his pocket, unfolding it and placing it down beside Lawliet's. The pair stared at the lists, Lawliet's being longer than Yoru's due to investigating each student individually, until five names were found on both pieces of paper.

 _Yuki Yamamoto_  
 _Kage Hikari_  
 _Kimiko Oshiro_  
 _Erwin Suda_  
 _Manami Saito_

"Hm... Erwin Suda is the only male on this list..." Lawliet noticed. "Tell me: Why do you think he may be Kira?"

Yoru shrugged his shoulders. "He joined school after Hana died. I doubt anyone would let their child join a school after such a sudden death... His appearance couldn't just be a coincidence," he explained.

"I thought the same thing..." Lawliet confirmed. "Now, what about the four girls?"

"All of them have been severely bullied," Yoru stated. "Kage is in my class and had been bullied by Hana Mutato for years until her death. Kimiko is two grades below us and gets picked on by Hana's younger cousin, but Hana used to threaten her if she ever fought back. Manami is only one grade below us and lives near Hana's home, and throughout her school years she has been targeted by Hana and her friends. Yuki is the odd one out because she has never been targeted by Hana, but she claims to have hated her. She is also in my grade. Not only did she used to hate Hana, but her bullying made her very defensive and hateful in general in a similar way to Kage, but Yuki openly states her political views while Kage only states them when asked. Sometimes Yuki comes out with a lot of insane gibberish, too."

"So in short, Kage and Yuki are our top suspects," Lawliet concluded, circling both their names. Yoru stared at the paper, hiding his sadness to seeing Kage's name on the list. But he knew he had to stop worrying; after all, Kage was only a suspect.

...

"Let me get this straight," Near began. "Someone else, presumably someone who is part of a mafia organization, has got their hands on a Death Note?"

"It seems that way," Matsuda responded. "Something tells me that there's possibly a second Kira."

"Possibly?" Near asked, almost sounding ashamed of Matsuda's deduction. "Not _possibly_ , Matsuda _. Obviously_."

"Oh... is it that obvious?" Matsuda questioned, sounding really embarrassed. Near just rolled his eyes and started building what looked like a house out of Lego bricks.

"Tomorrow Kage and Yoru should be coming over," he reminded. "Well... I'm not so sure about Kage after her fight at school today, but if they do both come over I want to hear their opinions on our conclusion. Before that, however, I think it'd be a good time to contact the Akacho. Since he's part of the mafia circle he should have a good idea of what's going on with the second Kira."

"How can we be certain that the Akacho isn't the second Kira himself?" Matsuda asked.

"Because he's a Red Butterfly," Near answered as he picked up his phone from the mass of items on the floor. "I'm not saying that makes him innocent, but I know for a fact that the Red Butterflies would never use a Death Note. They can do all kinds of things without such a weapon." The albino detective found the Akacho's contact number and pressed the call button, but found himself sitting their for a good minute or so.

There was no answer.

"...He's not picking up," Near announced, putting the phone down.

"So he's obviously guilty," Matsuda concluded.

"No," Near replied. "Even if he was guilty he'd still pick up the phone. There's no way for us to track down someone like him, and he'd want us to know that he's the one committing these murders."

Near stood up and took over the computer that Matsuda was using, opening up another tab and doing a bit of his own research.

"Um... What are you doing?" Matsuda queried after a few moments.

"I'm finding out which groups these victims were associated with," Near answered as he typed and clicked. "So far most of them are from smaller groups. I doubt they had much security to their identities given how known they were in there regions. ...But one victim is believed to have been part of the Blue Dragonflies, the rival group to the Red Butterflies." Near frowned. "Nobody from the Red Butterflies has been killed, but one Blue Dragonfly member has. Only one. If the Red Butterflies were behind this, they wouldn't just kill one member, and if they were going to kill one member it would most likely be the leader. This guy is clearly not their leader. My guess is that Mafia Kira is part of the Blue Dragonflies."

As usual Matsuda seemed fascinated by Near's deductive skills, much like how he used to be impressed by L's, but he was quick to question Near's theory. "Why would a Blue Dragonfly associate kill another member of their group?"

"To threaten the others," Near answered simply. "It happens a lot in the mafia circle. They kill their own members to gain the respect of others. The Blue Dragonflies don't have a strong bond like the Red Butterflies do, so they are more likely to kill each other." The young man twirled a strand of his hair once again as he stood darkly. "If the Blue Dragonflies possess a Death Note and haven't killed their main rivals yet, I think the only scenario they could be in right now is that they've kidnapped someone from the Red Butterflies and currently they are trying to make this person tell them the real names of each member. Since the Akacho didn't answer his phone... I bet he's the one who has been kidnapped."

...

The Tonbo, who had taken on the name of Lamia Tonbo from an early age, walked into the room where two of her associates were currently beating someone tied to a chair. They were dressed in now-torn red clothing and a sack was on their head.

"Boys, that's enough," Lamia announced, a smirk on her face. The two men stopped what they were doing and looked at her. "I'll take it from here," Lamia continued, stepping over in front of the person in the chair.

The Akacho.

Understanding that Lamia wished to be alone with the Akacho, the two other group members left the room and closed the door behind them. Lamia knelt down, smirking up at her rival despite her enemy being blind right now.

"You were too easy to catch," she chuckled. "You really aren't cut out to be a leader, are you, Saya?" The short-haired mafioso yanked the sack from the Akacho's head, revealing a surprisingly beautiful blonde young woman.

 **~End of Chapter~**


	13. Realm

**~Realm~**

Now in her pajamas, Kage lay on her bed with her phone in her hand. A group chat had been made between her, Yoru and Near on one of her various social apps.

 _ **Erwin Suda:**_ _I saw the fight earlier today. Are you two alright?_

 _ **Yoru Sky:**_ _Im fine. Its Kage Im worried about, though..._

 _ **Erwin Suda:**_ _She got into a rough fight... I never knew a boy would actually go as far as to beat up a girl like that._

 _ **Yoru Sky:**_ _Welcome to our school, Erwin._

 _ **Kage Hikari:**_ _guys im ok. just a little bruised from the fight._

 _ **Yoru Sky:**_ _At least its the weekend tomorrow, right? You can rest for a couple of days._

 _ **Kage Hikari:**_ _i think school is gonna close down again, yoru._

 _ **Yoru Sky:**_ _Oh yeah... I almost forgot about what happened to Tyrone... I was too focused on you..._

 _ **Kage Hikari:**_ _dont worry about me, im used to it._

 _ **Erwin Suda:**_ _You shouldn't be used to that sorta stuff._

 _ **Kage Hikari:**_ _well i am. hey, erwin, are we still going to your house tomorrow?_

 _ **Erwin Suda:**_ _Oh. We can cancel the day if you want. You are injured, after all._

 _ **Kage Hikari:**_ _im still up for it._

 _ **Erwin Suda:**_ _Really?_

 _ **Kage Hikari:**_ _yeah._

 _ **Yoru Sky:**_ _If Kage is still going, Im going, too._

 _ **Erwin Suda:**_ _Alright. One o'clock?_

 _ **Yoru Sky:**_ _Sounds good to me._

 _ **Kage Hikari:**_ _same for methamphetamine._

 _ **Yoru Sky:**_ _?_

 _ **Kage Hikari:**_ _*me. sorry, autocorrect._

 _ **Erwin Suda:**_ _Alright. I'll see you guys tomorrow._

 _ **Yoru Sky:**_ _Im off to do some homework. Ttyl._

 _ **Kage Hikari:**_ _im off to sleep. good night._

 _ **Erwin Suda:**_ _Bye guys._

After the chat, Kage switched off her phone and put it under her pillow, too tired to get up and put it on her desk or in her drawer. Light was sat on the windowsill, staring out into the darkness. Kage stared at him from where she was, but while staring at him she slowly let herself drift off into a deep sleep.

...

 _Kage opened her eyes and found herself standing by a harbour. The sky was red as the sun was beginning to set. Kage could feel the warm breeze against her face, flowing through her hair and blowing against her black leather trench coat. This place didn't feel familiar to her at all._

 _Confused, Kage began to walk along the harbour. It was quiet besides the sound of the waves gently crashing against the docks and the cawing of the gulls._

 _But after a few steps, Kage heard another sound. It was hard to make out at first, but then she identified the sound as crying. It sounded like it was coming from one of the various warehouses, but as Kage approached the correct warehouse she began to recognise the cries. The cries of a young man she knew._

 _Light Yagami._

 _Kage stopped by the warehouse and stared at the metal door before forcing it open. The door was heavy, but Kage could manage it. Inside, she spotted Light lying on a staircase. He didn't seem to acknowledge her presence, even as Kage approached him cautiously. Upon closer inspection, it became clear that Light was wounded, and right now he was lying in a puddle of his own blood. He also looked a little older; while Kage knew him to be about seventeen, here he seem to be in his early twenties._

 _"...Light?" Kage decided to ask once she was standing on the stairs. He didn't seem to hear her for a moment, but suddenly his eyes were locked onto her. His pupils seemed to have shrunk and his eyes had a bright red glow to them, making the young man look demonic. The sudden glare made Kage jump and gasp in fright, falling backwards. The girl expected to hit the floor..._

 _But she didn't._

 _She was still falling through what looked like a grey sky. Kage didn't scream like most people would have, but she still seemed frightened. Was this real? Was she dying or something?_

 _After what must have been extra-long minutes, Kage painlessly hit the sandy ground. Around her was just a land of grey sand and bones. Other than that, it just seemed dull and empty._

 _Kage pushed herself up onto her feet and looked around. She had no idea where to go, but decided to go where her feet were taking her. It was as if she was being drawn towards something._

 _And after a long walk, she found... monsters._

 _Monsters were just sat talking to each other in various places, playing some kind of games in other areas, but what really caught Kage's attention was the group of monsters who seemed to be crowding around something. Looking closer through the gaps in the huddle, Kage could see a human in a black shirt and brown trousers._

 _It was Light again, only this was the young Light who was always following her around. He had a chain linked to an iron collar around his neck as he sat on the floor with a vacant yet solemn expression on his face. His chain actually seemed to attach to one of the monsters: a monster which seemed more like a deformed head being suspended by multiple chains. The other creatures were actually focusing on this particular being for some reason, so Kage approached slowly. Again Kage's presence was not known by those around her, though she did keep her distance._

 _"Ryuk needs to be more careful with that one," said one of the humanoids. "He's often seen wandering off on his own when he returns from the human world."_

 _"Clearly Ryuk isn't capable of looking after his pets," another spat._

 _"Silence," boomed the voice of the chained monster. "I will speak with Ryuk about this. This human still thinks too highly of himself, even in this realm."_

 _One of the monsters laughed. "Ryuk did tell him what's gonna happen to him, right?" he asked. "No matter what he does, he'll suffer every death he caused with the Death Note, and after that he'll cease to exist. How can he still be so arrogant when that is his inevitable fate?"_

 _Kage's eyes widened. Was this true? Was this nightmare somehow telling her what she didn't know about Light? Was this what he meant before when he said..._ _ **"Doom us both?"**_

 _"I'm not arrogant!" Light snapped suddenly, glaring up at the creatures around him, watching as they fell silent and finally looked at him instead of the monster he was attached to. His brown eyes were locked onto his leash-holder's eyes, a hint of fear behind his expression but anger dominating the glare. "I'm not gonna just accept my fate! I know that's what you expect me to do, maybe because other humans have done it in the past, but I'm not the kind of person who willingly accepts death! No, not death... whatever you call this! I will continue to disobey each and every one of you until I can change my fate!"_

 _The monster holding Light let out a growling sound, tugging on the chain. Light seemed to choke slightly as he grabbed onto his collar, gritting his teeth painfully. The strangling seemed to worsen._

 _"There is no way for you to avoid your inevitable demise, human," the creature hissed. "Even if you were to bring me a century's supply of human-world apples I wouldn't do anything for you simply because it is not the job of a Shinigami to help other humans, not to mention I'd rather see you disintegrate than see you live on for the rest of eternity."_

 _Kage's eyes narrowed as she watched the scene before her. It reminded her too much of how people treated Yoru, how groups of boys would injure him and mock him no matter how much he tried to fight back. The girl figured that there was no point in shouting in a world where she was unseen, but she felt compelled to yell. Her instinct was to confront those who targeted others, especially if someone she was familiar with was a victim. Sure, she didn't like Light too much due to how moody he was around her, but she didn't hate him, either._

 _"At least pick on someone who's part of your own kind!" were the words that came out of Kage's mouth. But the reaction she got wasn't at all what she was expecting._

 _They all looked at her._

 _"Who's that?" asked one of the monsters - one of the Shinigami - in a very unenthusiastic tone of voice._

 _"Kage...?" Light reacted, surprised to see Kage before him._

 _"You," spoke the Shinigami which held Light. "You're the one who owns Ryuk's Death Note, are you not? No... you own this human's Death Note."_

 _"Eh? How is she here?" questioned one of the other Shinigami._

 _"Kage, don't tell me you died in your sleep or something!" Light exclaimed, looking both worried and angry._

 _"What? No," Kage responded, sounding relatively calm. "This is just a nightmare. There's no way this is real; these monsters look like they've come straight from a horror movie or something."_

 _"Kage, please be careful what you say..." Light grumbled, watching the Shinigami cautiously._

 _"No," Kage refused, folding her arms. "They don't scare me. This is supposed to be a nightmare but it's just a dream to me."_

 _"Seriously, be careful..." Light repeated, narrowing his eyes._

 _Kage seemed to ignore Light, stepping towards the commanding Shinigami, otherwise known as the Shinigami King. "So you plan to wipe Light from existence completely? Is that how it is?" she recalled. "I'm sorry, but that's not gonna happen until I myself die, and I won't let that happen."_

 _One of the Shinigami pulled out his own Death Note. "We can kill you whenever we want, Kage Hikari," he threatened, though it wasn't a very serious threat; his tone was rather casual and mocking. Kage grit her teeth and turned around to face this particular Shinigami, pointing her hand in his direction. "I won't allow you to," she snarled. But as she pointed her hand, something began to form in her grasp. The item materialized slowly, and it soon became clear what it was. Now in Kage's hand was a rather boney-looking Shinigami scythe._

 _Silence._

 _Kage remained calm, no surprise taking over her either on the outside or the inside. This was a dream. This was her own dream. She had the power here; everyone else was under her real mind's control. While Kage kept her new weapon pointed in the direction of the Shinigami who had just threatened her, the Shinigami King spoke up._

 _"Interesting," is what his first word was. "But I feel that you are extremely naive. In this world, humans never come out on top. Take a good look at Light; he was considered a god in your world, but here he is no more than our personal entertainment. We see him walking along the sand beside Ryuk and we laugh. We hear him speak confidently about how he should still rule your world and we laugh even harder. Humans here will never, no matter how powerful they claim to be, intimidate or threaten another Shinigami. Not even you with your scythe."_

 _"Scythes a pretty useless nowadays, anyway," added the Shinigami who was still facing the blade of Kage's scythe. Kage frowned darkly as a reaction to the comment._

 _"Really, now?" she asked quietly before suddenly swiping her scythe around, striking behind her. A loud 'clang' was heard as Kage's scythe made contact with the chain connecting Light to the Shinigami King, and everything froze completely. All eyes were on Kage, including Light's._

 _But in this image Kage had created, Light seemed to come to life. His stare was originally one of horror and shock._

 _Now he was smirking._

 _Kage found herself looking at Light even while frozen, watching as he stood himself up and walked towards her. His collar may have still been around his neck, but he had been disconnected from his holder. The taller male stared down at the unmoving girl, his eyes glowing red as they were before back at the warehouse. Light slowly leaned forwards, his mouth incredibly close to Kage's ear, as he whispered two words:_

 _"Erase it."_

...

Kage sat up abruptly, looking around frantically. She could feel herself sweating, vaguely remembering what she had just been dreaming about. In short, she knew she was dreaming about Light and what appeared to be another world. It almost felt... real.

"You're awake," Light greeted emotionlessly, still sitting upon the windowsill. Kage looked in his direction, easing herself so that she was breathing slowly and calmly.

"...What happened last night?" Kage asked, wondering if what happened in her dream was more than just images in her mind.

Light raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" he queried, appearing confused.

"...Never mind," Kage responded, forcing herself out of bed. Light watched her as she tried to sort her hair out by brushing down the strands which had decided to curl up and point at the ceiling.

"...You looked quite tense in your sleep. Did you have a nightmare?" the spirit chose to ask. Kage stopped brushing her hair as he spoke, but continued to groom herself when she gave her response.

"Something like that," she described.

"What was it about?" Light pressed curiously.

"Oh, you know, typical nightmare stuff," Kage answered. "Involved demons and shit but had other stressful things going on that were more human-based."

"I see," Light reacted.

That was the end of the nightmare conversation, so Kage proceeded to get dressed (once Light had temporarily left the room, of course), have breakfast and watch the news. It turned out that Kage was the first one in the house to wake up since her mother and Raita preferred sleeping in at weekends, and usually Kage was the same, but last night's nightmare was particularly unique. It almost felt like what she experienced was neither a nightmare or reality, but instead something which connected the two.

But what she didn't notice was Light smirking behind her as she watched the news.

...

Yoru sat himself up, stretching his arms as he yawned tiredly. He had slept quite soundly compared to Kage, plus he had slept for a lot longer.

The teen looked across his bedroom to see Lawliet still using the computer, looking as if he had been there all night.

"...Did you get any sleep?" Yoru queried, though he was certain that he already knew the answer.

"No," Lawliet answered, as Yoru predicted. "I've been looking at each of our suspects on social media and I've been checking their school reports. The four girls are very similar to each other, though Kage and Yuki are still the most suspicious."

"As for Erwin?" Yoru questioned since his brother didn't mention the boy.

"He's been cleared of suspicion," Lawliet confirmed, not losing his focus.

"Huh? Why?" Yoru reacted, tilting his head as he finally stood himself up.

Lawliet stopped clicking and typing. "He's not who you think he is," he answered.

Yoru's eyes widened a little. "Wait, what does that mean?" he responded. "Do you know him or something?"

"...He's my successor," Lawliet answered simply. Yoru stood in disbelief, mouth open slightly.

"...Wait..." the teen murmured, trying to form a sentence as he processed what Lawliet just told him. "...Erwin Suda... is... _your_ successor...?"

"Yes," Lawliet replied. "He attended Wammy's House. Of course, I don't expect you to remember him or anything, but he used to love seeing you when he was a child. It's clear that he's at your school disguised as a student, his motive being to catch Kira." At last Lawliet turned to face his younger sibling, still perched on the chair. "Did you say you were going to his house today?" he asked.

"Well... yeah..." Yoru answered, still sounding quiet from the shock. "He invited Kage and I over..."

Lawliet bit his thumb as he thought for a moment. "I suppose he plans to talk to you and Kage about what's really going on..." he assumed. "If so, then that must mean that he suspects you and Kage of being Kira..."

"What?!" Yoru exclaimed. "He suspects both of us?! Wait, why me?!"

"Don't panic," Lawliet soothed, looking at Yoru's wild navy eyes. "He probably isn't planning on arresting either of you yet; there isn't enough evidence to close this case."

Yoru tried to calm himself down, but he still appeared tense. "...I hope you're right..." he whimpered.

"You shouldn't worry," Lawliet stated. "You'll be just fine. Go to his house today. See who is there and see what he wants from you and Kage. I'll come by to pick you up later and then you can tell me everything that happened while you were there."

"Is it really a wise idea to turn up to your successor's house?" Yoru questioned, unsure if it was okay for a walking dead-man to suddenly make an appearance to someone who knew him well.

"It will be just fine," Lawliet assured. "Now go and get yourself ready; today is an important mission for you."

Yoru stared at Lawliet, baffled at first, but then he smiled and nodded his head. The word 'mission' made Yoru suddenly feel quite excited and important, and the feeling of importance made the boy feel a lot more confident in himself and his abilities. Yoru wasn't always about fun; he liked to do useful jobs so that he could at least be helping others around him and not just himself.

...

Kage walked.

Yoru walked.

They both met at the bus stop.

"You ready to go?" asked Yoru.

"Why wouldn't I be?" asked Kage. "We're only visiting the guy, right?"

"Right," Yoru responded, reminding himself that Kage was probably unaware of Erwin Suda's real identity.

Kage climbed on the bus and sat at the back, Yoru sitting beside her. She gazed out of the window as the bus began to move. Yoru seemed nervous, but why was he? He didn't know anything about Near, unless Lawliet had given Yoru some background information...

The bus stopped.

Kage stepped off.

Yoru followed.

"Which house was it again?" Kage asked.

"That one. Down the road," Yoru answered, pointing his finger.

"Right," Kage nodded.

They both walked together, towards their shared destination.

They arrived at the door.

Kage looked at Yoru.

Yoru looked at Kage.

Yoru nodded his head.

Kage nodded her head and raised her fist.

Kage knocked on the door.

The door opened.

Near was the one who opened the door, twirling his hair in his usual manner. This was a trait he had avoided doing in school. Nonetheless, the detective smiled.

"It's nice to see you both," he greeted. "Please come in."

Yoru was first to step in, smiling at Near kindly. "It was so kind of you to invite us over, Erwin," he chirped.

Kage was second to step in, smiling to herself as she spoke to Near. "Yeah," she agreed with Yoru. "I didn't wanna miss this opportunity to get to know you better."

"How interesting it is to hear you say that, Kage," Near responded, still twirling his hair. His smile was not a false one for once, but it wasn't a smile of kindness. It was a smile of curiosity and victory mixed together, which almost made Kage stop smiling herself.

"I was hoping to get to know you two better myself," Near continued.

"Really?" asked Yoru.

"Yes," Near replied. "You see..."

Yoru discreetly clutched the Death Eraser in his trouser pocket.

Kage discreetly clutched the Death Note in her trench coat's hidden pocket.

"There's something I want to talk to you about."

 **~End of Chapter**


	14. Review

**~Review~**

"Is that so?" Kage asked quietly after Near announced that he wished to talk to her and Yoru about something.

"Yes," Near nodded. "Follow me."

The albino detective walked through the house's hallway and headed into the living room. Matsuda was sat on one of the sofas with a laptop on the coffee table in front of him while Drake was sat on the floor playing on the PlayStation. Near looked as though he was about to sit beside Matsuda, but instead of sitting on the sofa he just decided to sit on the floor in front of it. The two school students looked hesitant to enter the room at first, but Near urged for them to come in. Kage and Yoru both looked at each other before entering, the pair sitting on the second sofa together. Of course, nobody but Kage noticed the third person enter the room. Light entered and glared daggers at both Near and Matsuda, though Drake seemed to be spared from his hateful gaze.

"Allow me to introduce you to my associates," Near began in a serious tone. Kage immediately knew that he was no longer acting under the guise of Erwin Suda at this point, clenching her fists slightly as she tensed herself.

"Beside me here is a former police agent who now works for me," Near continued. "To you he is known as Taro Matsui."

"Tota Matsuda," Light growled, his eyes locked onto Matsuda as the man gave a friendly wave to Kage and Yoru. Kage avoided looking at Light, knowing that she'd look suspicious when Near was watching her like a hawk.

"And the gamer is simply known as Drake," the albino male addressed. Light had nothing to say about this child, which told Kage that he either had no grudge against him or just didn't know the boy at all.

"And finally, I need to tell you the truth about my identity," Near finalised. "My name isn't actually Erwin Suda. I am really the detective known as N, but you can call me Near."

A reaction. Kage needed to give a reaction. She already knew this, but she couldn't let Near know that. She had to act surprised.

Yoru was having the same dilemma, but he was quicker to react. His reaction was very awkward and nervous, so instead of making him look less suspicious it made him look as though he had something to hide.

"A detective? Wow, I never would've know. Right, Kage? Why would a detective be in our school?" were the words which came out of Yoru's giggling mouth.

"I'm not too surprised, in all honesty," Kage admitted. "In total now there have been two deaths at our school caused by Kira, so why wouldn't someone come to investigate? There are probably other detectives at other schools, right?"

"That is something I cannot confirm," Near responded, rubbing a strand of his hair once again. "I work alone and form temporary teams to assist me where necessary. There could be others, but it's unlikely. Kira is known as a god to many people, and many governments are not in favour of fighting against his ways."

"Well, they're stupid," Kage clarified, folding her arms and leaning back to make herself more relaxed. Yoru was still leaning forwards awkwardly, not looking comfortable at all.

"Yeah! What Kage said!" he agreed.

"It's funny you two should say such things," Near replied quietly. "You see, we actually suspect you both of being Kira."

Of course he did. It was obvious. But if Kage let that show, she'd end up looking even more suspicious.

"What?! Why?!" Yoru exclaimed, sounding quite upset. "I-I'm not Kira! I hate Kira! Why would I want to be like him?!"

"I never said you were guilty, I merely suspect you," Near corrected. "In fact today was supposed to be the day I arrested one of you but... things have changed."

Kage raised her eyebrow. "Why?" she asked calmly.

Near turned to look at Matsuda. "Show them the statistics," he commanded. Matsuda nodded and did as he was told, turning his laptop around to show the death toll of mafia members.

"In the past few days mafia members have suddenly started dying of heart attacks," he explained. "We figured that if one of you two did happen to be Kira then you wouldn't specifically begin killing anyone with mafia connections, not to mention you couldn't possibly find out their identities without being part of a mafia group or at least being in contact with one."

"Mafia... group...?" Yoru spoke quietly and slowly, almost sounding horrified before he began to gather his thoughts. "...Wait... Wait! If you're telling us that the culprit has to be part of a mafia group in order to actually kill those people, that must mean that Kira is part of a mafia!"

"That's similar to the conclusion we came to," Near responded, glancing up at Yoru. "But we have decided that this Kira is not the same Kira as the one killing school students and criminals."

"Another Kira...?" Yoru repeated. "...There's... there's more than one...?"

"It's just a possibility," Near reminded. "But so far we believe that there could be three Kiras at maximum. The only reason I assume that there are two is because the criminals and school students die at similar times, leading me to believe that the first Kira is the one responsible for killing those kinds of people." The white-haired detective twirled his strand of hair thoughtfully as he gazed at Yoru. "Why do you sound so surprised at the possibility, Yoru?"

Yoru looked at Near, his eyes widening a little. He hesitated for a moment before looking down at his lap. "...I... I just..." he stuttered. "...I don't really... like Kira... I... I really... _really_ hate Kira..."

Near stared at Yoru, narrowing his eyes for a moment to see if the boy was being truthful. His response seemed genuine enough, but he could have easily been shielding his fear of being caught with a false fear of Kira. The albino's grey eyes were then on Kage, seeing that the girl was still sat rather calmly with her arms folded, her posture not too tense.

"You're being awfully quiet, Kage," he pointed out. Kage glanced at him with her green eyes.

"Hm?" she reacted, almost as if asking Near what his problem was with her being quiet.

"You're not saying anything," Near rephrased. "I can tell that you're listening, but you're not reacting to anything being said. Is there a problem?"

Kage stared at the boy before tilting her head to the side thoughtfully. "Not at all," she answered.

"Then tell us what you think about the Mafia-Kira," Near commanded. "You must have some thoughts to share."

"It doesn't surprise me," Kage replied. "Nothing surprises me these days. In the past there were multiple Kiras, so why wouldn't there be multiple Kiras this time? It's not like there's only one Death Note in the entire world, right?"

"Sometimes there is, sometimes there isn't," Near corrected. "There can either be no notebooks at all or six at maximum. I'm guessing that there are possibly two notebooks in our world as of now."

Kage raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?" she asked. "You said that there could be a third Kira."

"If there is a third Kira I believe he is working with the first Kira, who I will refer to as Little-Kira," Near explained. "They could be sharing a Death Note, while Mafia-Kira clearly has no connection to Little-Kira at all. They don't kill at the same time, they don't kill the same people... It's pretty obvious that they are barely even aware of each other."

"I see..." Kage nodded. Her response was followed by a brief silence, all except for the sound coming from Drake's PlayStation game, before Near moved on to his next point.

"However, I'm not really concerned about Mafia-Kira just yet," he continued. "Mafia-Kira only kills members of mafia organizations, so his actions don't necessarily affect the rest of the world. Little-Kira is the real problem; he is killing school students and criminals, forcing school systems and prison systems to change in order to protect students and inmates. He is getting more media attention because his crimes focus on the public while mafia groups tend to stay out of the public eye. I want to catch this Kira before apprehending Mafia-Kira."

"You make it sound as though it's going to be easy," Kage scoffed, earning quite a surprised look coming from Yoru as she continued. "Just catch one and then catch the other. Do you not realise the obstacles that will get in your way? After Light Yagami's death, a group known as the Kira Cult formed. This group has followers across the world - in fact, most major organizations support this group. They will do whatever it takes to eliminate Kira's enemies, and you won't even see them coming."

Near stopped twirling his hair but kept the strand firmly grasped between his index finger and thumb. His eyes were locked onto Kage, glimmering with interest before he smiled. "Someone's been doing there research," he acknowledged.

"Yes. I've been doing research ever since..." Kage paused, reaching into her trench coat's hidden pocket. Light watched her with wide eyes.

"Kage, don't you dare!" he snapped. But Kage didn't listen. She slowly pulled out the Death Note and placed it onto the coffee table, watching Matsuda's face become one of horror while Near's expression barely changed as he realised what the notebook was.

"K-Kage...!" Yoru gasped, sounding horrified. "Y-You said you wouldn't-!"

"I said I wouldn't show Erwin Suda the notebook because I believed that he was just a naive new student who would've assumed that I was Kira upon seeing this notebook," Kage corrected. "Erwin Suda and Near are two different people. I'm showing Near this not as a friend, but as someone who wants to help stop Kira."

Near turned his head to face Yoru. "You knew that she possessed a Death Note?" he queried.

"...Yes," Yoru answered, looking down shamefully. "Kage, you tell him the story... You're the one who found it..."

"Found it?" Near questioned. He seemed intrigued.

Kage nodded her head. "I went to the girls' bathroom in school and found it on the floor," she explained. "I haven't really been counting the days, but I decided to show it to Yoru after... he found something which this world has never seen before."

"What do you mean by that, Kage?" Near interrogated. "So far you're telling me that you found a Death Note, kept it hidden and then finally showed it to Yoru after he himself coincidentally found another item from an alternate world."

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Kage confirmed. "Because his item came with an instruction booklet which mentioned the Death Note. He told me that he had found this strange item when he came home from school one day, but he feared that I thought he was crazy or that someone may have been pranking him. So I decided to show him the Death Note to let him know that I didn't think he was crazy and that I too had found something I wasn't sure was real."

"I see. How interesting," Near reacted. "So what item did Yoru find, exactly?"

"A Death Eraser," Yoru answered. "I-I brought it with me in case... in case someone found it at my house and freaked out. I have the instruction booklet, too."

Near glanced at Yoru strangely. "...Show me," he instructed. Yoru's hand fumbled around in his pocket before he managed to pull out the Death Eraser itself along with the slightly-crumpled instruction booklet.

"Here," he said.

Near picked up the booklet and began silently reading the instructions. He was quick to finish reading as he placed the booklet down, staring at the two school students suspiciously. "You both came here with your Shinigami objects," he recalled. "Did you know what would happen today somehow?"

Yoru seemed to be sweating a little, hesitating to respond. Kage was silent for a moment before deciding to give an answer.

"My reason is the same as Yoru's," she said. "You heard him say that he brought it in case someone in his family freaked out. Imagine if someone found a Death Note in my room; they'd immediately believe that I was Kira."

"Yes. They would indeed," Near agreed. "In fact, I'm now pretty certain that you are Kira, Kage Hikari."

"Idiot!" Light yelled at Kage. "You shouldn't have showed him that! You should've just pretended that you didn't have it!"

"You think I'm Kira because I was hiding a Death Note someone else had been using?" Kage quizzed. "That's not a very intelligent comment."

"Yeah! There's no way Kage would be Kira!" Yoru defended. "If she was then she would tell me! Kage tells me everything, she never keeps secrets from me!"

"Why would she confess something so serious to you?" Near asked. "You said yourself that you hate Kira. Surely if she confessed you would hate her, too, and ultimately hiding any information regarding Kira's identity would be a criminal offence."

"Not really, the Japanese Police Force support Kira now..." Kage grumbled.

"It would be a criminal offence in my game," Near corrected, twirling his hair once again. "If you're going to play, you have to agree from this point on to not hide any information about Kira. If you don't agree to these terms, then I can assume that you are either Kira or one of Kira's accomplices."

"I agree," Kage agreed calmly.

"I guess I agree, too..." Yoru added.

Near opened up Kage's Death Note, flicking through the pages to see the names that had been written down. "...This notebook hasn't been written in for a while," he noticed.

"Yeah, that's because Kage told me that she was gonna keep it locked away and untouched ever since she found it that day in school," Yoru explained. "She promised not to write a single name in it, and it looks like she kept her word."

"But people still died after these victims," Near reminded. "I doubt Mafia-Kira was behind their deaths since Tyrone Akita was one of the most recent victims, but his name is clearly not in this notebook. That must mean that Little-Kira still has some pages of the Death Note."

"Maybe she does," Yoru agreed. "She might've kept some at home or something. No... She might've lost the Death Note on purpose in case someone found it at her house! Think about it: a Death Note is a pretty obvious piece of evidence to prove that someone is Kira, but a few pieces of paper aren't suspicious at all."

Kage looked at Yoru. She hadn't expected him to come to such a conclusion, but she was glad that he did. It was a believable act for someone who was trying to keep hidden.

"That's an interesting theory," Near said to Yoru. "Little-Kira is still killing school students and criminals even without a Death Note because they still have some of the pages. It's been confirmed that the effects of the Death Note still work on the pages even if the pages are no longer within the book itself, so it is safe to assume that Little-Kira is currently carrying out their murders with pages which have been removed from the Death Note Kage has found."

"That sounds about right," Kage nodded. Near glanced at Kage and seemed to hold back a smirk.

"It's funny to hear you say that, Kage," he said. "You see, before I actually joined your school, I set up some hidden cameras in every hallway and room, including the girls' bathroom."

Kage felt her heart stop for a moment. Near was getting at something. He must've seen her...

Writing Tyrone's death.

Near looked up at Matsuda. "Show them the camera footage," he ordered. Matsuda nodded and clicked the touchpad a few times before turning the laptop around, showing Kage and Yoru the footage of Kage writing on a piece of paper in the girls' bathroom. Kage was frozen.

Yoru gasped, staring at the footage, before turning to face Kage. "Tell me this isn't true! You weren't writing down names, were you?!" he asked, sounding horrified.

"...No," Kage answered quietly.

"This footage was taken on the day of Tyrone Akita's death," Near clarified. "I believe that you were writing down the details of his death at this point. How do you care to explain yourself?"

"...This was taken during sociology..." Kage recalled. "...I left the lesson to take down my notes... I always do that if I end up getting distracted..."

"And what were you getting distracted by?" Near questioned.

Kage looked down sadly. "Yoru's bullying..." she confessed.

Yoru stared at her for a moment, not understanding how his bullying could possibly distract or bother Kage. She was a tough girl who could ignore her own bullying most of the time, there's no way she'd be so fragile when it came down to him being picked on...

"Yoru's bullying made you leave the class to take notes somewhere else? That seems... unusual for someone like you," Near stated. Kage narrowed her eyes.

"You don't know me that well," she told him.

"I know you well enough," Near corrected. "Also, even if that was the case, would you like to explain the head gesture you gave to nobody in particular?"

Kage stared at him, her eyes still narrowed cautiously. "What head gesture?" she asked.

"This one," Near replied, pointing to the screen after switching to a different camera. The footage showed Kage opening the door to the girls' bathroom, but pausing for a brief moment to look behind her and gesture to someone who didn't seem visible. Kage stared at the footage before turning her head to face Near.

"I was checking to make sure nobody was following me in," she excused. "Sometimes if I go to the bathroom another girl follows me in. No, usually a group follows me in. I usually end up being whirlied."

"Whirlied?" Near queried, unfamiliar with the term.

"...In the past girls have shoved her face in the toilet and flushed," Yoru translated.

"Right," Near nodded in understanding. "But to me it seems as though she was gesturing to someone."

"I wasn't," Kage insisted. "Why would I gesture like that if there wasn't even anyone there?"

"Who knows?" Near asked, smiling a little to himself. He knew about the existence of Shinigami, but he didn't reveal that yet; Kage would obviously deny all knowledge of the existence of such beings, even if she was being followed by one. No... she was obviously being followed by one.

But then again, Near couldn't see one even after touching the Death Note.

"I think I've interrogated you two enough," the detective decided, standing up. "You both seem willing to help me stop Kira, even if you are both still quite suspicious. I'll prepare us some drinks while we discuss plans to catch both Kiras; I already have a few ideas in mind." The young man began heading out of the room before turning back around to face the suspected duo. "Oh, if you don't mind, I'll be keeping both the Death Note and the Death Eraser here," he stated.

"That's fine," Kage nodded.

"Yeah," Yoru agreed.

Near smiled a little again before leaving the room to make drinks. Matsuda continued to work on his laptop while Kage and Yoru sat in silence and Drake continued to play on the PlayStation.

...

After a few hours, it was time for both Kage and Yoru to leave. Near stood at the door as the pair made their leave, intending to watch them as they left until they were out of sight, but found himself in a different situation.

Standing at house's front gate was a young man with black hair. He greeted Yoru when he came out before his black eyes locked onto Near. Near stared at the man for a moment, unsure if he should just head back inside or if he should go and talk to the familiar face. He decided to go with the second option, walking down the short path before standing opposite the taller male. Both detectives wore a blank expression.

"Your brother is here?" Kage whispered to Yoru.

"Yeah, he wanted to meet Near..." Yoru sighed quietly. "I think this is more awkward than anything."

"...You're alive," were the first words to come from Near as he stared emotionlessly up at his past mentor.

"Yes," Lawliet replied.

"...Was it the Death Eraser?" Near queried, already jumping to a conclusion.

"Yes," Lawliet answered again.

Near stared at him. "...Who brought you back?" he asked. "Nobody knows your real name."

Lawliet glanced at Yoru, seeing the boy nod, before turning back to face Near. "Yoru did," he revealed. "He's a lost relative of mine."

"...Hm," Near nodded. He didn't want to get into a discussion about family complications right now, nor did he want the conversation to be longer than necessary. Near had never particularly liked Lawliet as a person, but had always respected L as a detective. Lawliet knew that Near disliked him in some way, so seeing how awkward he was during the conversation did not at all surprise the older male.

"...I look forward to meeting you again soon," Lawliet said simply before turning around and walking down the pavement. Yoru glanced at Near, then at Kage, before following him. Kage glanced back at Near and followed just after Yoru. Near narrowed his eyes a little, appearing quite hateful. He now had to face an arrogant rival who was related to one of the suspects. The albino was quick to calm himself down, however, as he realised that Lawliet was not his enemy. Despite disliking Lawliet, Lawliet had always liked Near and the two did trust each other. This wasn't going to be a race to catch Kira; this was going to be something else. Near was ultimately going to end up having to cooperate with Lawliet at some point for something relating to the case, even if it was only a minor thing such as an interrogation.

The young detective went back into the house, returning to the living room. He silently picked up the Death Note and Death Eraser, staring at the items thoughtfully. Matsuda tilted his head, looking at Near oddly.

"What are you thinking about, Near?" he asked, seeing that Near had a very thoughtful expression. Near glanced over at Matsuda.

"...We need to catch Mafia-Kira," he announced. "Mafia-Kira has the Akacho, and we need him to help us detain Little-Kira."

"Do you even know who Little-Kira is?" Matsuda questioned. "You still seem to be uncertain..."

"I'm not uncertain at all," Near confirmed. "I have a plan to prove which one of them is Kira."

"You're sure that it's one of them?" Matsuda queried.

"Yes," Near answered. "But in order to rescue the Akacho, we need someone who already has dirty hands from working in a mafia organization."

"Can you trust anyone like that?" Matsuda asked, sounding very unsure.

Near smiled. "I can trust someone in particular to get the job done," he assured.

...

In a bar later that night, a group of motorcyclists stood laughing and talking as they drank countless pints of beer. They were telling all kinds of stories about how they escaped the cops and how they beat some other gang until one of the members of this group received a phone call. Due to the bar being quite loud, this man went outside and stood by his motorcycle. The conversation was pretty casual and not extraordinary, seemingly being with a friend.

But suddenly, while he was least expecting it, the man was grabbed and pinned against the wall. Nobody was around to see this due to it being dark and late. The man gasped, dropping his phone, which his attacker stamped on.

"W-What?! W-Who are you?!" the man cried.

"It doesn't matter," replied the unknown attacker. The other male seemed to be quite young and a little rough-looking due to his long blonde hair being messy and filthy, almost as if he had been dragged through a pile of dirt. His cold blue eyes didn't leave his prey's eyes as he made it clear on what he wanted. "Give me the key to your motorcycle."

The man being assaulted looked confused at first before he hardened his expression. "No way! Do you even know who you're talking to, you crazy bastard?!" he snapped. The younger male didn't seem at all threatened as he pulled out a pocket knife, holding it dangerously close to the older man's throat.

"Give me the key," he demanded calmly, seeing his victim return to his submissive state.

"A-Alright, alright, h-here..." he stammered, shakily pulling out the key. The other male snatched it from his grasp, marching over to the motorbike which the man had been standing by. He mounted it, put on the helmet and started up the engine, revving it up a few times before riding onto the road. The man watched him go, clenching his fists angrily as he realised what he had just let happen to himself.

The man who had attacked the other male was riding at a very fast speed, not seeming to care if he was going beyond the speed limit. He had no particular destination, but was aiming to head to the nearest city's centre. The nearest city happened to be Osaka, and that's exactly where this male was heading.

He had to find out what the world was like at this moment. How long had he been dead for? And why was he back? Nobody really knew of his identity - to most people he didn't even exist, so if someone was responsible for him being alive once again they had to know him personally.

"Near..." he growled to himself.

 **~End of Chapter~**


	15. Recon

**~Recon~**

"How was he?" Lawliet asked Yoru once the pair had returned to Yoru's household.

"Huh? Oh, he was... fine," Yoru answered awkwardly. "He started asking questions straight away and told us his true motives..."

"Did he?" Lawliet queried, not sounding convinced. "Near isn't one to reveal every little detail when it comes to his plans; he'll be hiding something from you."

"Like what?" asked Yoru.

"I don't know," Lawliet replied. "He's probably planning to lead you and Kage into some kind of trap. If the trap gets you to expose your identity, I suppose that means that you are Kira. If your identity as Kira is not exposed, you must be innocent."

"Trap...?" Yoru gulped.

"It won't be anything too violent or scary," Lawliet assured. "Mello was the sort of person who would jump to those conclusions. Speaking of Mello, I wonder what actually happened to him after I was killed..."

"I dunno..." Yoru shrugged, the name not familiar to him. His older brother seemed to be in thought for a moment before he just nodded his head and turned his attention back to the effeminate teen.

"So did Near tell you who he was?" the man questioned. "That he was an undercover agent at your school searching for Kira?"

"Yes, that's exactly what he told us," Yoru responded. "He said that he suspected me and Kage. ...I think I came across a little suspicious, myself..."

Lawliet raised an eyebrow. "How so?" he asked.

"...I dunno..." Yoru shrugged, looking down at his feet. "I was... quite nervous... Maybe Near believed I was nervous because... I was Kira..."

Lawliet stared at Yoru for a moment before looking away. "I doubt Near is that naive," he confirmed. "He needs solid evidence to accuse someone of a crime. The way a person acts is probably the last thing on his mind; he understands that people act in various different ways in different situations. Some people are calm even when guilty while others are nervous despite their innocence. That was something he was quick to understand when he was a child."

Yoru looked up at Lawliet slowly, feeling the weight on his shoulders become easier to bear. Maybe he was right. Maybe Near didn't suspect him more than before - maybe he suspected him less.

But what about Kage?

...

"You are an absolute _idiot_ ," Light spat once Kage had shut the door to her room. "You showed him the Death Note! You _gave it_ to him! How was that supposed to prove your innocence?! He didn't believe your cover-up tale one bit!"

"Relax," Kage said calmly, sitting by her desk. "I'm not unprepared for anything Near is planning to throw at me. If he plans to secretly investigate my house or something, there is nothing for him to use as evidence against me here."

"Pens?" Light asked.

"Hm?" Kage reacted.

"Pens," Light repeated. "What pen were you using to write down names with? If Near sees that your pens match the ink on the pages of the Death Note, you're done for."

Kage took out her pencil case and unzipped it, calmly taking out a regular black pen. She emotionlessly gazed up at Light, holding the pen in front of her face so Light could see it clearly. Without hesitation, Kage snapped the pen in half. No words left her mouth, nor did she even look at the pen as she snapped it. Instead she stared right at Light, seeing him staring at the pen with a baffled expression. The gothic teen then spun her chair around casually and dropped the corpse of the pen into the bin beside her desk, her hands sticky with the black blood which had seeped from it. Kage turned back around to face Light, seeing his expression of confusion turn to a frown.

"I hope you're taking out the trash very soon..." he grumbled.

"On Monday morning," Kage specified. "I'm not gonna worry too much; I'm staying in all day tomorrow, so Near won't be coming to snoop around my house. In fact, if he does ever plan on making a surprise visit behind my back I don't think it will be any time soon; school is closed and I rarely leave the house."

"...Alright. It's nothing to worry about too much yet, but it's worth keeping in the back of your mind," Light responded, folding his arms as he let himself float a little. "My room was checked when I was initially suspected as being Kira, and one of my accomplice's had her room checked when she was out doing a photo shoot or something."

"I see," Kage nodded. She sat in silence for a moment before looking up at the spirit. "How did you avoid being caught?" she decided to ask. "If you're room was checked... how did you hide your guilt?"

Light looked down at her, surprised that she was actually interested in knowing. It seemed that now she was becoming more tactical and wanted to know more about what it took to be Kira and how to avoid being detected. If only she had asked more questions like this from the beginning...

"This was long before anyone else knew about the existence of Death Notes and such," he explained. "But I found out that someone had been in my room when I saw that my door wasn't closed my way. I avoided talking to my Shinigami... "companion", Ryuk, until I was out of my house. I tasked him with searching my room for anything such as hidden cameras... And it turned out that there were hidden cameras and wire taps in my room. Since I had a secret way of entering my room and tasked Ryuk with searching for hidden cameras, I was able to understand the situation I was in and ultimately acted like a normal high school student studying for the entrance exams. I was still able to continue killing criminals since I knew where all of the cameras were, so I was able to keep my Death Note and miniature televisions out of sight while being watched."

"...Interesting," Kage reacted, nodding her head thoughtfully. Once she processed and stored all of this information, the girl looked back up at Light. "So will you search for hidden cameras when I suspect that Near has been in my room?" she queried.

Light stared at her again, but knew that he couldn't say no. After all, his safety was also on the line. "Yes, Kage," he told her. "Besides, I won't even wait for you to tell me to do anything. I'll look whenever I feel that Near or someone else has been in your house."

"...Thank you," Kage smiled. Light smiled back, but his smile was the smile of Lady Macbeth - sweet on the outside, sinister deep down.

The gothic teen pushed herself out of her chair and stood up, glancing up at Light. "I have some plans to discuss with you, but first I need butter. Butter helps me think," she said to the ghost. "Also, while I'm getting a snack... please explain the door thing to me."

...

"Hey, Near, have you seen this?" Matsuda asked, gesturing to his laptop as Near stacked some dice on the floor. The white-haired male turned his head to face his associate.

"Hm? What is it?" he asked.

"Trouble in Osaka," Matsuda explained. "A man stole somebody's motorcycle after threatening their life. The motorcycle was then found parked not far from Osaka station. Police believed the offender got on one of the trains."

"Why are you telling me this?" Near asked, frowning up at the black-haired man.

"The witness reports are the interesting part," Matsuda continued. "The descriptions given... I think to you they may sound familiar."

Near raised his eyebrow and stood up slowly, shuffling over to Matsuda, looking at his laptop's screen. "Let me see," he commanded, turning the laptop around to get a better view of it. He scrolled down the document, reading the quotes which had come from supposed witnesses who had seen the suspect.

 _'I saw a European man who looked like he'd been in a fight... The guy was filthy.'_

 _'I only saw him for a very brief moment when he took his helmet off, but his face looked damaged. He's also quite tall and skinny.'_

 _'He had a very distinct burn mark or deformity on one half of his face...'_

 _'He reminded me of that guy who was part of the kidnapping of Kiyomi Takada almost two years ago...'_

Near twirled his hair as he stared at the comments which stood out, giving the most insight to who had been seen.

And he smiled.

"...What're you smiling at?" Matsuda asked, sounding almost nervous as he wore a face of discomfort.

"He is the new player," Near answered. "My wild card. He won't ever cooperate with me directly, but unwillingly he will do as I expect him to. Right now he's just having a little tantrum; he wants to find out why he's alive. Most likely he'll suspect I'm behind it considering most other people who know his real name are currently deceased."

"Wait... who exactly _did_ you bring back?" Matsuda questioned slowly, not keen on knowing the answer.

Near still had his tiny smile as he twirled his hair thoughtfully.

"He goes by the name of Mello."

...

Lamia re-entered the room where Saya had been left tied to a chair. Ever since the infamous Akacho had been brought to the Blue Dragonflies' temporary hideout she hadn't uttered a single word. Not even after various methods of torture.

"Still not talking?" Lamia asked in a mocking tone of voice as she grinned. "That's awfully unlike you, Saya; usually I'm the one who sits in silence while you talk bullshit. How the tables have turned, am I correct?"

The red-haired mafioso was met only with a death stare coming from the hateful brown eyes of her rival. The look only made Lamia chuckle.

"You're pathetic," she spat, turning on her heal. "We'll find ways of making you talk. One way or another... we will have the names of your core group members." With that, the Tonbo left the room, closing the heavy door behind her. Saya slowly looked downwards, staring into her lap. She knew that she had no way out of this situation, but she'd rather die than give someone as low as Lamia the names of her gang members.

...

Kage twirled her chair from side to side absentmindedly as she scooped some butter out of a tub, eating it as though it was some ice-cream. Light watched her with disgust silently before she finally spoke.

"So... I need to set up some kind of pattern to enter my room," she recapped. "I can come up with something. Also..." she devoured another spoonful of butter and muffled while eating, "I have a plan to keep an eye on Near."

Light raised his eyebrow. "Plan?" he repeated.

"Yeah," Kage nodded casually. "You see..." she gulped down the lump of butter in her mouth, pointing her spoon at Light while keeping her eyes on the tub of butter, "You can only stay within range of the Death Note, right?"

"Right...?" Light responded very slowly.

"But I've proven that you can also stay within range of more than one page," Kage continued. "That's why you're still here. But since Near has the Death Note, you should be able to appear at his house, as well."

Light stared at her strangely. "...So, you want me to appear there and keep an eye on him?" he asked.

"Kinda," Kage replied, scraping out some more butter. "I want you to keep an eye on him but regularly report back to me about what he's doing."

The ghost of the first Kira nodded his head. "I see what you mean," he confirmed. "And he won't see me no matter how many times he touches the notebook because I am not a Shinigami. Only the next of the notebook can see me because I am one of the original owners; in other words, only you will ever be able to see me."

"Unless I die and someone else becomes the new owner," Kage added. Light gave her another strange gaze.

"...Not really," he corrected after some hesitation, looking away. Kage stared up at him, tilting her head to the side slightly, finally not focusing on eating her butter as she firmly planted her foot onto the floor to stop her chair from spinning.

"...Wait," the girl said quietly. "...Light..."

"...What?" Light responded.

"...The other night... I had a weird dream..." Kage began.

Light almost laughed as soon as he heard Kage say that, but kept it in. His brown eyes were looking right at her. "...What kind of dream...?" he asked slowly and quietly.

"...I was at a harbour," Kage described. "...And... I found you... an older you... in a warehouse... You were crying... and... and bleeding..." For some reason the memory of the dream was bothering Kage, but at the time... she wasn't feeling anything.

"...You looked at me with red eyes..." she continued. "...But after that, I fell into another world... Around me were... Shinigami... I think one of them was the king... and... he had you on a chain... They were all mocking you... saying that you were going to be erased from existence after suffering all the deaths you ever caused..." The dark-haired girl felt her eyes tearing up a little, to which she was greatly frustrated by.

Light almost smirked again, but instead masked himself with a face of depression as he looked away and closed his eyes.

"It was just a dream," he assured her calmly.

"Then why are you looking away?" Kage asked, not convinced that her dream was just a random event constructed by her mind. "You've said some odd stuff recently. Like how you talked about us both being doomed if I was caught. And how you're so determined to keep me from being caught... Something isn't right!"

 _'She's falling for it...'_ Light thought triumphantly. _'I look so in denial that even she knows I'm hiding something. And she's even showing concern, just like all women do. This is perfect. The more I make her worry... The more likely she'll considering trying to resurrect me."_

Light's plan seemed flawless, but it wasn't guaranteed to save him. After all, Kage was... difficult to read. She seemed to lose some of her emotions after receiving the Death Note, and definitely seemed a lot more confident; she even seemed to show little to no signs of depression. Maybe she wouldn't be the type of person to consider bringing Light back.

But she did seem to show a lot of concern. No... she was tearful. She actually enjoyed Light's company - he could tell. Why else would a girl cry when someone who was constantly with her was suddenly revealed to be vanishing soon?

Teenage girls. Easy to trigger their emotions, no matter how withdrawn they seemed to be.

"...Stop worrying," Light finally said. "There's no point in you clouding your mind with worry for someone who is already dead. Just focus on cleansing this world... even if your methods are controversial in my eyes."

Kage frowned at the last statement, but was still tearful. She grit her teeth and slammed her tub of butter onto the desk. "Whatever," she hissed. "I need to clear my head..."

"...Does that mean you want some alone time?" Light asked.

"It means get lost," Kage growled. Light looked at her sadly and nodded his head as if he understood what she was feeling.

"...I understand," he murmured. Kage didn't see the little smirk he had on his face before he vanished, leaving the girl to hold her head in her hands while staring down at her desk.

...

"Wait... Mello was the guy who kidnapped Chief Yagami's daughter!" Matsuda gasped. "He was a problem causer! Why bring him back?!"

"Like I said, if we want the Akacho to carry out my plan to expose Kira, we need someone like Mello to find where he is currently being held," Near explained.

"He's too unreasonable, Near, we can't trust him," Matsuda clarified.

"You don't need to trust him," Near stated. "But as long as I trust him, then this is what my plan is. Someone like him was bound to cause a scene in public, and because of that we were able to pinpoint his location. He was in Osaka, and the police suspect that he snuck onto a train to get away." The albino detective placed a black dice on top of his stack of white dice. "I, however, don't believe Mello did such a thing."

"You don't...?" Matsuda questioned.

"Mello understands that doing such a thing would be risky for someone like him," Near explained. "He would've hidden among a crowd and got away."

"So you think he's still in Osaka?" Matsuda queried.

"Yes," Near nodded. "I would contact the Osaka Police Department to request their assistance, but I doubt I am considered an ally with any police department in this country."

"So what do we do?" asked Matsuda.

"We go after him ourselves," Near decided, earning a surprised look from Matsuda. "He won't find our location immediately, and even if he is able to figure out exactly where we are I have a sneaking suspicion that he'd only end up getting himself caught before he found us. We're going to take a train to Osaka from Kyoto Station - we'll take the Shinkansen line so we arrive there in twelve minutes."

"Wait, now?!" Matsuda exclaimed.

"Yes," Near nodded. "We still have time. You and I will go and we'll search for Mello; likely chances are he'll be quite unhappy to see me. Also, it will be very difficult for us all to get away if he does finally decide to cooperate, which he will do because he has no other option. It'll take us a while to actually find Mello and calm him down, which is where Drake comes in."

Drake, who was still playing on the PlayStation, turned his head to look back at the pair. "Eh?" he reacted.

Near glanced at Drake. "I'm not fond of breaking the law, but you have a car," he pointed out. "It'll take you between forty-five minutes to an hour for you to drive to Osaka, but knowing you you'll end up breaking the speed limit. You will drive around Osaka until you find the three of us; just follow the chaos. You'll pick us up and drive us all the way back here without being followed."

Drake perked up happily. "You actually want me to drive?!" he gasped happily.

"Yes," Near nodded.

"What?!" Matsuda snapped. "Near, Drake is fourteen! He can't legally drive!"

"He's a capable driver," Near confirmed. "Besides, the laws in this country have worsened ever since Japan became a nation of Kira supporters; I'm sure a fourteen-year-old driving a car won't be too much of a problem compared to people who express their hatred for Kira."

"...Whatever you say..." Matsuda grumbled.

"This plan sounds awesome!" Drake chirped, jumping up to his feet and pumping his fist in the air as he grinned.

"Matsuda, Drake, get yourselves ready," Near commanded as he twirled his hair. "Tonight's gonna be interesting."

 **~End of Chapter~**


	16. Reckless

**~Reckless~**

Lawliet lay on the spare bed in the attic, staring upwards at nothing in particular. He wasn't focusing much on the current Kira case while in such a position, so he looked a little frustrated. He knew that he had to sleep at some point, but now? It felt too early, even though it was in fact night time.

The detective looked at the door and considered getting up and hobbling down to Yoru's room, but then decided against it. Yoru was probably sleeping right now, and he probably didn't want to be disturbed by the brightness of the computer monitor and the loud fan of the computer itself. So to his frustration Lawliet knew that he had to force himself to rest for now, despite the fact that he was aching to get up and work further on the cases at hand.

...

Matsuda sat beside Near on the train heading for Osaka, reading a newspaper. Near twirled his hair absentmindedly, keeping his head bowed a little as he thought. The pair did not talk at all, instead remaining in complete silence.

The train eventually began slow down and the upcoming stop was announced. Near looked up at the LED sign which read: "Osaka", standing up and reaching for a handle to hold onto. "This is our stop," he told Matsuda. Matsuda shoved his paper away quickly and stood up exactly as Near did, waiting for the train to come to a halt.

When the train finally did slow down, the doors slid open. A number of passangers hurried onto the platform, Near and Matsuda included, as other people from the platform pushed and shoved to get onto the train. Near and Matsuda made their way quickly through the station, passing through the gates with their tickets, before finally taking a brief rest when they were out in the streets.

"We're here," Near quietly stated, glancing around. "The crowd here seems rather relaxed; Mello clearly isn't in this area."

"He could be blending in," Matsuda pointed out.

"He won't be able to blend in at this stage," Near countered. "He'd be recognized, and anyone covering their entire face would appear suspicious."

"But if he was believed to have left Osaka then he clearly is no longer causing trouble," Matsuda said.

"Then he's either hiding or he's in a secluded area," Near concluded. "Let's head away from here; it's far too crowded and calm."

The albino detective shuffled himself along, Matsuda following him closely. He knew not to walk too far since Mello was probably near the train station, judging by the eye-witness reports, so he decided to walk down the quieter roads. Matsuda couldn't help but feel a little worried as he followed Near further and further down the backstreets, fearing that some group of criminals would jump out at them.

"Hey, Near...? Aren't we a little _too_ out-of-the-way?" the Japanese agent queried.

"Not at all," Near answered calmly. "All of these backstreets are linked in this particular area. If Mello fled the scene not too long ago nearby the station, I wouldn't be surprised if we found him somewhere here. Mello always has been the kind of guy to use these streets, after all."

Matsuda frowned a little. "If we do find him, what makes you think we'll be safe?" he asked. "Mello's a criminal, and it's clear that right now he doesn't know what he's doing. He's showing signs of complete hostility, and I doubt he'll hold himself back when he sees you and I."

"I agree," Near nodded. "Mello would definitely pull a gun on me; he may even pull the trigger. But he probably won't immediately try to kill me. Killing me has never been his goal. He just wants to beat me and rub it in my face, and he wants me to be alive to see it. He'd only try to kill me if he was desperate for something."

"With the way he's acting I'd say that he's pretty desperate," Matsuda noted. "He's acting like someone who's been backed into a corner. He wants to know what's going on around him, and he's fighting for answers."

"Where do you think he plans to get those answers from?" Near asked. "I've made it pretty clear that Mello is most likely searching for me. He wants me to tell him the answers. He doesn't know what answers he's looking for, but he suspects that I have them."

"Do you have any back-up plan at all in case he tries to kill us?" Matsuda questioned.

"No," Near replied. "I believe my theory is correct. If not..."

Then he and Matsuda would be out of the game.

"...If not...?" Matsuda pressed. Near looked up at him as he walked.

"Then we lose the battle, but not the war," he finished.

Matsuda appeared to look highly uncomfortable, but the conversation ended there. The two walked on in silence, seeing and hearing nothing that could be of use to them.

Until...

"You tell no one that you saw me here. Got it?"

Near's face brightened up a little. _He had found him._ All he had to do now was turn left and walk down the narrow alley, and he would see the next pawn in his game. No, Mello was no pawn. Mello was a knight. He had a more important role than the other players. If he could be reasoned with - which Near saw as a very high possibility - then he would help confiscate two Death Notes and take down two Kiras, killing two birds with one stone.

The white-haired detective quickened his pace as he turned the sharp corner, managing to just see two silhouettes. One with a slim masculine figure and long hair pinned a much larger man against the wall. The large man seemed to be cowering as the smaller male threatened him. Near came to a complete stop and stared, with Matsuda standing behind him with an incredibly nervous expression.

The heads of the two silhouettes snapped in their direction, the dim light just illuminating their faces. The larger man looked quite hopeful to see two normal-looking people, while the other man's eyes were wide with what looked like shock.

Shock which then turned into burning hatred.

Mello, the smaller man, dropped his current victim and turned his attention onto Near. Not Matsuda, just Near - as if Matsuda wasn't there at all. The Slovenian male scowled and began marching towards the pair, causing Matsuda to step back a few times with worry.

"Near..." Matsuda muttered. The young detective did not react to his words, standing with his feet practically stuck to the ground as this raging bull approached him with fire in his icy blue eyes.

Mello grabbed hold of Near's collar and lifted him up almost effortlessly, holding him against the damp bricks of the wall. Matsuda acted on instinct and reached for the gun in his holster, but Near spoke up.

"Leave it, Matsuda," he commanded in a relaxed tone of voice. Matsuda froze and stared at Near in shock, and slowly he pulled his hand away from his weapon. He stared at the two with complete worry, barely focusing on the large man who took this time to scurry away.

"You..." Mello hissed at Near. "You know something, don't you? No... You _did_ something... What the hell did you do, Near?!"

Near narrowed his eyes ever so slightly, not losing his vacant expression. "I brought you back to life," he answered plainly. "Don't worry; I never expected you to be thankful in the first place."

Mello huffed. "Like I'd ever thank you for anything," he scoffed, dropping the younger male harshly. Near fell to the floor but barely winced, getting himself back onto his feet as he dusted himself off. Mello glared at him the entire time before continuing to speak. "So how did you do it?" he interrogated. "I want to know."

Near twirled his hair thoughtfully. "If you must know I currently possess a Death Note," he responded, watching as Mello's expression lightened up with interest. "I also happen to own a newly-discovered item from the Shinigami Realm. It is known as the Death Eraser. Anyone who has their name erased from the Death Note can be brought back from the dead."

Mello stared at Near, almost not believing him for a moment. "...Anyone, huh?" he asked, though the question was directed at himself more than anyone else.

"Yes," Near confirmed. "As long as their name was written down in any Death Note." A tiny smirk appeared on the detective's face. "If you're interested you should come back with me. I have the rule book back at my current house. There I can explain to you the current world situation, and particular plans I have in mind."

Those words made Mello almost feel a stabbing sensation. His eyes could have turned red with just how angry he was at hearing what Near had just said.

"You only brought me back so that you could use me in your stupid games again, didn't you?!" he roared. The blonde man turned on his heel and started storming away. "Forget it, Near. I won't let myself be used by you again. I don't want _anything_ to do with you."

"Where will you go?" Near immediately asked. "If you walk out onto the streets you'll eventually get caught and arressted. You'll sit in prison until Kira kills you or you are sentenced to death."

"Kira?" Mello interrupted, stopping in his tracks as he looked back at his rival. He appeared confused.

"Yes," Near nodded. "There's another Kira. Two, to be precise."

Mello turned around to face Near completely, intrigued. Was the original Kira part of the pair or were these two Kiras completely different people? Was the original Kira ever even caught? Near would be the one who knew the answers to those questions...

"You will end up being Kira's victim if you walk away now," Near continued. "Or you'll be the victim of his followers. You might even get gunned down before being formally arrested." There was a brief pause before Near moved on to the alternative. "You could go ahead and kill yourself right now and go back to whatever afterlife you came from, or you could come with us."

Mello thought for a moment before his glower returned to his face. "...What would I gain from going with you...?" he asked slowly and quietly, almost as if he didn't even want to consider the option. Near stopped twirling his hair and looked Mello in the eye from his current distance.

"I suppose you could call yourself number one," the detective answered with a small smile. which could barely be seen. "You see, there's something I need you to do. I brought you back to do this because you're the only one I can think of who can get the job done. It's something that catches your interest... and ultimately leads to the downfall of both Kiras."

The young male looked genuine interested now. If he was the one who did most of the work when stopping both Kiras, then he truly would be number one.

But Near was the one who came up with the plans, so surely he'd get the credit...

Unless this plan hadn't actually been thought out at all?

"He was down there when I saw him!" came the familiar voice of the man Mello was intimidating before.

"Shit," Mello rasped. He hadn't actually made his choice yet. He had sworn to never work with Near or form any kind of true alliance with him. But was his oath worth dying for at this point?

No. Even if Near did win whatever game this currently was, Mello would at least have a chance to defeat him in the future if he went with him now.

"Fine," the blonde man finally spat, flinching when he said the word. Near smiled proudly, but only for a brief moment.

"That was easier than I had expected. Thank you for not being your usual self today, Mello," the detective thanked. "Now... should we run?"

"That would be a great idea," Matsuda responded. He didn't take time to hesitate as he turned and started running. Near and Mello turned to see the man from before pointing at them, two police officers running at them.

"...Let's go," Near told Mello before turning and quickly running himself. Mello frowned, not liking the fact that he was listening to Near's orders, but followed him anyway due to the circumstances. He was a very fast runner, but kept at Near's pace since he was the slowest out of the three.

"Do you think Drake will be anywhere nearby?!" Matsuda shouted back to Near as he ran.

"It depends if he broke the law or not," Near grumbled as he tried to pick up his running pace. "We'll keep running until he finds us."

Mello looked back and saw the two officers catching up. One was speaking into a transciever while the other was pulling out his handgun. His eyes widened for a short moment before he turned around and ran faster.

"This way!" he yelled at the other two, turning to the right sharply. Matsuda stumbled before the turn to slow himself down, running after the younger male. Near turned and ran just behind him, hearing the sound of a gun going off. One of the officers had tried to shoot him.

The albino detective forced himself to run faster, trying to catch up to Mello but instead running just beside Matsuda. "We need to get back onto the main street soon," he announced. "Drake's coming to pick all three of us up.

Mello glanced back at him angrily as he ran. "We're depending on Drake to save our lives?!" he yelled. "How old is he now?! Last time I saw him he was just a simple-minded brat!"

"This is no time for an argument, just keep running and stop looking back!" Near shouted. Mello growled and continued to look ahead as he ran, swerving past obstacles when necessary.

Two more gunshots went off. Matsuda ducked out of instinct while Near and Mello both blinked and tensed up. All three of them continued to run before they were back into the streets.

"If we go through the crowd, they are less likely to use their guns!" Mello told the other two loudly, running and pushing through the crowd of people. Near nodded and followed with Matsuda by his side. Pushing through a crowd like this was not an ideal move for these two, but it was what they had to do to avoid being shot at.

And to make a scene which Drake would spot easily when driving by.

"Can you see Drake's car anywhere?" Matsuda loudly asked Near.

Near scanned the road as he fought through the crowd. "Not yet," he said. "I'm sure he'll be here soon. We just need stall and cause some chaos."

"We won't have enough time," Mello growled. "You. Office-agent... whatever you are. Give me your gun."

Matsuda looked back at Mello as he pushed people aside. He did not trust someone like Mello with his gun, so frowned and shook his head. "Sorry. Only officers are allowed to use guns," he excused.

"Do I look like a law-abiding citizen to you?" Mello questioned rhetorically. "Give me your damn gun!" The blonde male lunged forward and snatched the handgun from Matsuda's holster before he had time to react.

"Hey!" Matsuda exclaimed as Mello shoved people over to run ahead. The agent tried to chase him, but couldn't bring himself to push citizens down so roughly.

Mello, on the other hand, sprinted out of the crowd. Once he was out of the crowd he came to a stop and turned around. He pointed his gun, and immediately everyone started to scream and panic. People ducked, and once enough people were either out of the way or down on the ground, Mello fired in the direction of the two officers who were currently pursuing him and the other two. He managed to shoot one in the shoulder.

"Hurry!" he shouted at both Near and Matsuda. He turned and started running, and the pair followed quickly.

"Was that necessary?" Matsuda asked through clenched teeth, not sounding at all happy that something like that just happened.

"You wanted a scene, didn't you?" Mello retorted. "If we stick around this area and cause as much trouble as possible while defending ourselves, we should be fine. If we just continue to run aimlessly, finding Drake would take much longer and would be a lot harder."

"Exactly," Near agreed, earning a surprised and betrayed glare from Matsuda for a split second. Matsuda just shook his head and continued to run, even as Mello turned and fired his gun back at the crowd. It was clear that Mello wasn't afraid of hurting innocent people, which Near was completely aware of. Deep down, Near was actually hoping that Mello would injure a civilian to cause even more panic, but he didn't mention that out loud. Mello was already disrupting the everyday atmosphere for these people, and the screaming was enough to catch Drake's attention if he was close by.

The sound of sirens could be heard coming from behind the trio; the other two officers had obviously called for back-up.

"Shit," Mello cursed, seeing the blue and red flashes coming from the light source behind him.

"This isn't good..." Matsuda gulped.

The police cars could be heard approaching fast. There was obviously no way for the three to outrun the cars, but to Near this was actually a good thing. They were being chased by loud police cars with bright flashing lights - Drake would definitely see this.

If he was near the scene, at least.

"We should probably run down an alley up ahead," Mello announced. "The cars won't be able to fit, and we can backtrack to where we just were."

Near was about to protest, but figured that maybe it was a good idea. He said nothing since he didn't feel too sure about running straight back; the officers could have cars waiting at all possible exits from the area, for all they knew.

But just as Near started to doubt his plan's success chances, he heard the sound of screeching tires coming from ahead. This could have been another police car, or maybe some other opponent, but instead it was a red classic car. Near smiled to himself.

Mello saw the car and felt his eyes widen a little, believing the car to have a different driver at first before he realised that the driver in his mind was long gone. This was obviously Drake, the one Near and Matsuda had arranged to meet with. Drake, one of the youngest children from Wammy's House.

Drake drove past the pair at first, and it looked as if he was heading directly for the four police cars which were close to them. He wasn't showing any signs of slowing down, either. The young teenager grinned in an insane yet childish manner as he leaned out of his window with a gun in his hand. A real gun. This was something he definitely didn't own legally, but then again almost everything Drake owned wasn't exactly legally obtained.

Drake aimed his small pistol at the front tire of one car before pulling the trigger. The police car span out of control and crashed into a lampost, almost colliding with a number of citizens on the sidewalk. The teen did the same to the other police car, and pretty much the same thing happened. The other two cars came to a sudden stop as their drivers slammed their feet on the brakes, the officers panicking in case they crashed into the cars belonging to their comrades. Drake used this short time window to swerve his car and do a rushed U-turn, heading back towards the three he had come to retrieve. He pulled up beside them and spoke through the wound-down window.

"Hurry up and get in!" he commanded. Matsuda took the front seat while Mello and Near quickly got in the back. Before the trio even had time to put their seatbelts on, Drake slammed his foot against the acceleration pedal, intending to get away as quick as he could as the two non-crashed officers began to give chase. Despite the police cars being relatively close at first, Drake managed to lose them after taking a few lefts and rights before heading back towards Kyoto. He grinned playfully.

"That was so fun!" he chirped. "I can't wait to do that again some time! I never knew driving would feel so badass! It's like Great Theft Motor!"

'Great Theft Motor' was a game many boys Drake's age had played, but none had ever really experienced the game in real life. At least Drake could now proudly tell his future family that he learned a few survival techniques from the game.

"Drake," Near spoke quietly. "You have a gun."

"Yeah?" Drake responded as though it wasn't a problem. He then realised that he had never mentioned having a gun to anyone in the first place, so understood that Near probably wasn't too happy with him right now. "Oh... yeah... about that..."

"Mello, let Matsuda have his gun back," Near ordered. "I give you permission to take Drake's by force."

Mello grinned a little, seeing Drake's horrified reflection in the rear-view mirror.

Near smiled a little as well, but returned to being his usual serious self.

Matsuda frowned. "Near, I refuse to work with a child who illegally drives a car and carries a firearm," he stated.

"We're trying to catch Kira," Near reminded. "You're breaking the law as we speak. We all are. And I am the one who will take full responsibility for a cause. Drake's dangerous driving, Mello's mafia moves... that will all link back to me."

"You won't be taking complete credit if the two Kiras are caught," Mello reinforced, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "You said yourself that I will be the one who brings both Kiras down. I don't care if it is your plan; I'm the one doing the work."

"Hmph," was all Near said in response. He gazed out of the window, seeing Mello glare at him in the reflection, before Mello turned to stare out of his own window. After that was just silence for the rest of the drive.

...

"I must say, Light, you seem to be discovering a lot about yourself," Ryuk acknowledged. Light stood opposite him, an incredibly smug expression on his face as he chuckled lowly.

"If I want to survive and rule the world as a god, I need to experiment with new things," he explained. "Not even you Gods of Death know the capabilities of a human in spirit form. You all believed that I could effect nothing in the Human World. That the owner of the Death Note could only see and recognize my image. But that's not true; I can manipulate their minds while they sleep. I can be in more than one place if a couple or more Death Note pages are left in another location." The young male looked up at the Shinigami. "I made Kage have that nightmare. I made Kage worry about me. No... She worries about Light Yagami. She wants to save him from his fate. In due time she will find an opportunity to erase my name from the Death Note, and I will be able to return to the world I was destined to rule..."

Ryuk almost laughed. Light still sounded foolish when he spoke. He spoke with so much confidence, so much certainy... He spoke as if his plans would never fail.

"What makes you think she will bring you back?" he queried out of interest. Light smirked.

"She's a young woman, isn't she?" he asked. Ryuk laughed at the comment.

"I can't deny that she is indeed female," the Shinigami agreed.

"Exactly," Light responded. Ever since Light came across the Death Note, he had come to accept that women were easy targets. Before then, he just saw all humans as equals with no gender being more dominant than the other.

But Light Yagami died the moment he wrote down the first name in the notebook. All of his rational ways of thinking, all of his hopes and dreams... Everything he had and wanted were taken from him. Instead he had become a faint shadow of his former self, and ever since that moment seven years ago Light had been a completely different person.

Kira.

"So what will you do if you do manage to return to the world of the living?" Ryuk asked, now seeming to be really interested. Light looked over at him, appearing thoughtful for a moment, before he smiled a little.

"Like I said, I will continue to shape the world into a haven for the innocent," he answered, looking up at the sky as he imagined what he would do. "I will wipe out everyone who is rotten. No crimes will ever be committed. No wars will ever break out. ...And no one will suspect that it's me because officially I am already dead."

"What about Kage?" Ryuk interrogated, his unchanging smile somehow appearing wider. Light's expression held a tiny pinch of insanity as he looked back at Ryuk, smiling in an unsettling manner.

"I'll kill her," he revealed.

 **~End of Chapter~**


	17. Reform

**~Reform~**

Kage came downstairs the next morning, entering the living room tiredly. She caught sight of her mother and Raita both watching the news together, seeing that the current news report was of an incident in Osaka last night.

"More crimes?" she asked quietly as she sat down in between the pair.

"Yeah," Raita replied grumpily. "It's nothing too serious."

"Hm," Kage responded, watching the news carefully. She was waiting for some names to pop up, but unfortunately none of the four suspects were named.

"...I hope you plan on getting dressed today, Kage," Sango spoke, pointing out that Kage was still in her pajamas. Kage looked down at herself, then shrugged her shoulders.

"I will, don't worry," she assured. "...Later."

"You gonna go see your boyfriend again today?" Raita sniggered.

"Boyfriend?" Kage repeated before puffing out her cheeks and hitting Raita with a cushion. Raita put up his arms to defend himself.

"I'm kidding, lil' sis!" he laughed.

"You'd better be..." Kage grumbled, not happy that Raita referred to Yoru in such a way.

...

Yoru groaned and rolled out of his bed, flopping straight onto the floor. The sudden impact made him jolt up, looking around frantically. "Huh?!" he exclaimed. Realising that he was awake, he calmed himself down and got up onto his feet.

The teenage boy looked at himself in the mirror, seeing his floppy black hair sticking up weirdly. His pale face looked paler than usual since his eyes now had dark bags beneath them. Yoru sighed, realizing that he looked incredibly tired.

A knocking was heard at the door to Yoru's bedroom, causing Yoru to quickly turn his head.

"Are you okay in there, Yoru?" Lawliet asked from the other side of the door. "I heard a loud noise in here. Did you fall?"

"...I'm fine," Yoru responded. "I'll be out in a minute, okay? I just need to get dressed and tidy up, first."

"Alright," Lawliet replied. "I'll be downstairs. Your aunt and uncle aren't here, though."

"They never are..." Yoru grumbled. "And they're your aunt and uncle too, y'know!" No response came from Lawliet, so Yoru decided to get himself dressed. He was only in a pair of shorts right now, but the sight of his scrawny and feminine body sickened him. He was quick to put on his usual black jumper, black jeans and even his white scarf. The scarf was special to him, and he wore it whenever it was possible. The only place where he would never wear the scarf was his school; the students there would ruin it.

Yoru went downstairs as soon as he was ready, seeing his older brother making himself a cup of tea. He was also making one for Yoru, which made the teenager smile.

Lawliet turned and looked at Yoru, nodding at him as a greeting. "Good morning," he said. "I hope you slept well."

"I did," Yoru smiled, sitting at the kitchen table. "You?"

"...I slept as well as I normally do," Lawliet replied, placing the two tea cups on the table. He then sat opposite Yoru in his usual position.

Yoru sipped his tea before looking his brother in the eyes. "...Any news on the Kira case?" he asked.

"No," Lawliet replied. "I couldn't do any research last night because the computer is in your room, and I did not want to disturb you. I have only just awakened this morning, and there were no news reports focusing on Kira at all."

"I see," Yoru nodded, taking another sip of his tea. "...So what was being focused on instead?"

Lawliet shrugged his shoulders as he stared down at his cup of tea. "Some bike-jacking happened which led to chaos in Osaka, some sport was being shown, then something about a celebrity break-up or affair or something of the sort. I don't particularly pay attention to the news unless the report is on a severe subject matter."

"Right," Yoru responded. "I can understand that; sometimes they'll even have a report dedicated to sport while they only focus on a major incident for about one minute."

"That's how the media works," Lawliet concluded, finally taking a sip of his tea.

"...So I guess today you wanna stay inside and do some more research?" Yoru assumed.

"Yes," Lawliet answered plainly. "But if you want to go out then I won't stop you; I know you like to visit Kage a lot."

Yoru blushed and looked down. "Yeah... I do..." he replied quietly, embarrassed to admit it.

...

Mello stood in the living room with his arms folded while Near and Matsuda sat down on the sofa. He looked incredibly tense, a scowl engraved into his face.

"So. You wanted me to do something, didn't you?" he recalled. "That's what you said last night. Tell me what it is so I can just do it."

"I'd prefer it if you sat down, but I suppose I can still tell you while you're standing," Near responded. He took out what looked like a blonde _'Troll'_ doll with an 'M' written on it's chest, placing it on the coffee table. "That's you," he began, then placing an orange-haired troll doll of a smaller size beside the blonde one, a piece of tissue stuck over this doll's left eye. "And that's Drake."

Drake seemed to just materialize beside Mello all of a sudden with a bright smile on his one-eyed face. When Mello noticed the younger male he actually grimaced out of annoyance and disturbance before returning his focus to Near's plan.

"You two will be working together," Near continued. "I'll explain why shortly, but first let me introduce you to Lamia Tonbo." Near took out a red-haired troll with a little blue mask on. "After excessive research, Matsuda and I discovered that Lamia Tonbo is the name of the current Blue Dragonflies leader. Of course, that's not his real name." Near placed the red-haired troll among a group of blue-haired trolls with the same masks on, then placing a blonde-haired troll with a red mask in the centre of the group. "This is the Akacho. He is being held captive by Lamia, but we need him because he is going to help us take down Little-Kira."

Near placed a black-haired troll doll on the table, but not close to the others. "Little-Kira is the name of the current Kira, and I think I know who it is. The Akacho was going to help me expose them, but unfortunately he was kidnapped by Lamia." The albino's grey eyes looked up at Mello, watching to see if the older male was still paying attention. "I've told you already that there are in fact two Kiras currently committing crimes," he reminded. "Little-Kira is the dominant killer as of now. The other one is Mafia-Kira, who only kills anyone associated with a mafia organization. I have every right to believe that Mafia-Kira is Lamia Tonbo."

"That's all I need to hear about them," Mello interrupted. "Just tell me what you want _me_ to do. Do you want me to find Lamia? Do you even know where he could be? I haven't got all day to listen to you explain."

Near frowned a little bit, but moved on to talking about the plan. "Well, we honestly have no idea where the Blue Dragonflies are currently hiding," he admitted. "But Drake claims to have found the private Wi-Fi network belonging to the Blue Dragonflies. With his tablet, he said that he can set the Blue Dragonflies' Wi-Fi to his default network, and when it is in range it will properly appear on his list of nearby networks." The teen detective took out a toy red car and placed the one-eyed ginger troll and the blonde troll inside it, driving it over to where the cluster of masked troll dolls awaited. "You two will drive around the entire country searching for this Wi-Fi."

"Entire country?" Mello repeated, not sounding too pleased about needing to do such a thing.

"If necessary," Near added. "You can use your deductive skills to try figuring out where the most likely location for a hideout would be. Drake... might be able to help out with that."

Mello looked down at Drake, seeing him wearing an excited grin. He glowered, not entirely convinced that someone like Drake was capable of doing such a thing. "What deductive skills does he even have?" he questioned.

"You'd be surprised," Near smiled. "I don't work with idiots, Mello. I work with people who help me catch criminals faster. I work with people who have various talents in particular areas." The albino detective looked up at his past rival. "That's why you're here. Only you understand how these mafia associations work."

Mello's eyes narrowed as he stood silently for a moment, but then he looked away and folded his arms. "Most mafia groups these days have an underground hideout," he informed. "Either that or they set up a temporary hideout in an abandoned building."

Near looked at Drake, hiding a rather smug feeling. "It seems that Mello deduced the possible locations for you," he said. Drake puffed out his cheeks in frustrations.

"Oh yeah? Well... I'm still gonna be the one who finds the Wi-Fi and the actual hideout!" he huffed.

Near only smiled a little, finding it somewhat entertaining to push Drake like this. This is also something he'd often do with Mello, but right now Mello was being extremely cooperative - more so than ever.

"So then, do you two think you'll be able to start?" the detective asked.

"The sooner the better," Mello grumbled, wanting to get this over with.

Drake held onto Mello's arm, smiling happily yet almost creepily. "This is gonna be fun!" he chirped. Mello scowled and grit his teeth, shoving the boy off.

"Don't make this weird," he muttered before turning and heading towards the door.

"Mello," Near called, stopping the older male. Mello stopped and looked back at him before the albino continued. "Do whatever you must to rescue the Akacho, but remember to bring Lamia Tonbo back here, as well. Injure him as much as you need to, but try to bring him in alive."

The Slovenian male stared blankly at Near before nodding his head once, turning and finally leaving the house. Drake scurried after him with his tablet in his hand, setting his default Wi-Fi to 00000bd2014 - the network he believed was the one belonging to Lamia Tonbo's mafia group.

...

Kage was currently sitting in her bedroom by her desk, having at last got herself dressed. She was staring at a blank page - a page which had been taken from her Death Note - and she had a pen in her hand. But she wasn't writing.

"What's the matter? Writer's block?" asked Light who stood behind her chair.

"...I'm just not in the mood to write anything down," Kage admitted. "Did you ever feel like that when you were Kira?"

"No," Light answered simply. Kage blinked and looked up at him.

"Not at any point at all?" she elaborated.

"No," Light repeated. "I was always in the mood to write. It was my duty as Kira to rid the world of evil. I couldn't just give up writing."

"...You had no other hobbies?" Kage questioned. "But you had the Death Note for six years, did you not get bored at any point?"

"Kage," Light cut in, closing his eyes as if he was frustrated. The gothic girl immediately fell quiet, allowing the ghost to continue. "Do you still not understand the importance of being Kira? Is this all some game to you?" His brown eyes re-opened and focused on Kage, piercing right through her. "Do you think that it's okay to just take breaks when there is so much evil in the world?"

"Well..." Kage began quietly. "Every now and then I like to just-"

"Stop. Stop right there," Light interrupted, looking absolutely disgusted. "Listen to yourself. You, the person I _chose_ to be my successor, are justifying the fact that you want a break. You want to just sit back and relax, and while you do that, you're gonna let hundreds - no, thousands - of criminals get away with murder. Does that really sound like something you want to happen?"

Kage frowned. "You didn't choose me to be your successor," she hissed. "Don't lie to me. You only picked me because you wanted to see what I'd do with the Death Note, and I've showed you what I'd use it for. Of course I don't want this world to be full of rapists, murderers and thieves, but I don't plan to just wipe out the criminals. I've had my revenge, and now I plan to make the world fear me. My name is not Kira, Light. _You_ were Kira. I'm someone else. And if you have a problem with how I do things... then that's too bad."

The way Kage said all this made something in Light snap. His irises practically shrunk. _'Oh, be thankful you're the one with the Death Note and not me, Kage...'_ he thought spitefully. The way Kage was being so challenging to someone like him was infuriating, but Light couldn't do anything about it.

"...Yeah, well, don't cry my name when you get yourself caught," the ghost hissed, not wanting to say much else before he disappeared.

Kage watched him vanish, and her expression didn't seem to change. The girl turned back to look at her blank page, trying to get ready to write, but her expression suddenly became... sad. She could tell that she had pushed Light too far, and in all honesty she believed that her responses were unnecessary.

Kage Hikari would be feeling extreme guilt by this point, but when someone uses the Death Note they become an entirely different person.

The Grim Reaper did not feel remorse.

 **~End of Chapter~**


	18. Rescue

**~Rescue~**

Mello and Drake approached the house garage, the former winding the door open by pressing the 'unlock' button on the key. As the door slowly opened, the blonde male turned and glared down at the teenager.

"I'm driving," he clarified.

"I know," Drake responded as he tapped his tablet, opening the Wi-Fi setup tab. Mello was still glaring down at him, even as the door fully opened.

"You shouldn't even have this car," he stated. "Why do you even have it? _It doesn't belong to you_."

Despite hearing the obvious hatred in his tone, Drake did not let the man get to him. Instead, he strolled over to the car and opened up the passenger door.

"I'd love to answer your questions, but the story's way too long," he responded to Mello's words. "Now are you gonna get in the car or do you want me to do this by myself?"

"Trust me, I'd do anything if it meant not working with you," Mello replied as he opened the driver's door and slid into the car. "But this isn't something some kid can do alone. Besides," the male slammed the door and started up the engine, looking at Drake as he strapped himself in, "I want the recognition for this. You're only here to help me find the right location."

"Less talking, more driving," were the only words Drake responded with. Mello let out an angered sigh as he pushed his foot down on the pedal, driving the red car out of the garage.

...

"Do you think those two will be okay?" Matsuda questioned.

"They'll be just fine," Near answered as he started lining up some dominoes on the floor. "While they may not get along, they won't try to kill each other. Also, I feel that it is safer to send two people on a mission like this; it's easier to lose contact with just one person doing the job."

"And I trust you gave them your contact details?" Matsuda assumed.

"Drake already has my current details on his tablet," Near assured. "He has yours, too. He has every contact he needs in case something bad happens. But I doubt those two will run into too much trouble; Mello knows exactly what he's doing."

"But Mello was always someone who let emotions take over," Matsuda reminded. "He was sometimes a little rash..."

"He acts on emotions, yes," Near agreed, knocking the line of dominoes over. "Currently he is feeling determined. He's determined to beat me. To prove that he is better than me."

"And if he gets mad at Drake?" Matsuda queried.

Near shrugged his shoulders as he watched the final domino topple over. "Then he will be determined to get the job done even quicker."

Light had been standing in the corner of the room the whole time, once again taking advantage of the Death Note being in Near's possession. His eyes were wide as he stared at the albino detective, but other than that his expression was blank.

The ghost of the Death Note glanced down in thought, debating whether he should go to Kage about what he had heard or not.

Mello. The man who helped bring him down. He was back thanks to that stupid eraser. And yet while these people were coming back from their graves, Light was still stuck haunting a notebook.

Despite his burning hatred for Mello urging him to go back to Kage to explain what's going on, Light decided to return to the Shinigami Realm for now. He had to stay away from Kage for a while.

...

"Any sign of the Wi-Fi signal?" Mello asked as he drove through the city of Kyoto first.

"No," Drake replied. "But I doubt the hideout is within any city. I believe it may be located along a port."

"Right," Mello nodded. "I'll try Port Kyoto first."

"No," Drake refused, earning a confused yet annoyed glanced from the older male. "Port Kyoto is too close; I'm sure this Lamia guy knows that. Something tells me that the hideout is along Port Sakai."

"Port Sakai? That's over an hour away from here," Mello responded, not sounding too happy about having to drive that far."

"You heard what Near said," Drake grinned cheekily. "We have to drive around the _whole country_ if we wanna find the Blue Dragonflies."

Mello let out a growl. "Fine. Just shut your mouth; you're a hazard to anyone who drives."

...

Lamia sat in a chair, flicking through the pages of her Death Note. She had killed quite a few mafia members, but she still hadn't gotten Saya to talk. Even after mental and physical torture, the Akacho had not yet spoken.

"Perhaps you should just make the Shinigami Eye deal, my darling," spoke Midora as she ate a banana. "I can tell that you're still unhappy with the current situation."

"Tch," Lamia hissed in response. "Everyone who is part of the Red Butterflies hides their face. What's the point in giving up half my life-span for a power which will most likely be useless to me?"

Midora shrugged as she tossed the banana skin aside. "It'd be easier for you to find out the names of those butterfly people," she informed.

"I'm already close to getting Saya to talk," Lamia assured as she closed the notebook, looking up grumpily at the Shinigami near her seat. "And once she tells me the names of her associates, I'll kill her myself without the notebook. Capiche?"

The Shinigami stared at Lamia before once again shrugging her shoulders. "Whatever you say, signora," she responded. Her response earned her a glare from the human Death Note owner.

...

After almost two hours of driving, Mello and Drake had arrived in Port Sakai. Mello drove along the roads slowly so that Drake's tablet could pick up nearby Wi-Fi networks.

"Anything?" the blonde man asked.

"...No," Drake answered slowly as he stared at his tablet. "...Try driving along those quiet roads closer to the sea."

Mello spoke no words, but did as he was told. Drake was clearly onto something.

"How about now?" he asked.

"Keep going..." Drake responded, his stare locked onto his electronic device.

Mello frowned, and after a few very short moments he spoke up again. "How about-"

"There! I have one bar!" Drake suddenly exclaimed. "Park the car somewhere, Mello; we've got a hideout to break into!"

"Wait, are you serious?" Mello reacted, surprised at Drake's accuracy on where to go. He drove the car into a narrow alleyway where he guaranteed no one would go before parking and turning off the engine.

"Yeah, I'm serious, now let's go!" Drake answered, opening up the car door. With the alley being so narrow he hardly had any room to properly get out of the car, but both he and Mello still managed it. The one-eyed boy ran to the alley's exit, followed by the leather-wearing European.

Drake ran for a while before suddenly stopping. Mello stopped just behind him, appearing confused.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"The signal's disappeared but I don't see anywhere which could have a stronger Wi-Fi connection," the younger male explained. He walked back a little, seeing the connection bars appear once again. "What the...?"

Mello looked around, eyes focusing on everything in sight. He even looked upwards a little. Nothing but buildings which were either being used by others or abandoned structures with barely any security. Mafia groups would secure the abandoned buildings they chose to hide in, so these places didn't seem like they were occupied.

The man then thought for a moment before slowly looking down. On the ground was a covered manhole - a sewer entrance. Drake was obviously not gonna ever notice this, so Mello decided to point it out now.

"Hey," he said to get the boy's attention. Drake glanced over at him.

"Huh? What's up?" he reacted. Mello simply glanced back down at the manhole and nodded at it, silently telling Drake that this manhole cover could possibly lead them to the hideout of the Blue Dragonflies.

Drake gasped loudly, beaming with glee. "Mello! You're a genius!" he exclaimed. "The bars go down when I leave this area!"

"Sewers are large networks," Mello reminded. "Which means that this entrance here is the one which is used as the hideout's official entrance."

"Let's go down it!" Drake decided, about to remove the cover by himself. However, Mello halted him.

"No," he responded, seeing the confusion in Drake's eyes. Before he was questioned, he began to speak. "We'd be seen instantly. We should go down a different hole; one further away from the Wi-Fi signal."

"Oh yeah, good idea," Drake responded, scratching the back of his head nervously. Mello just rolled his eyes at Drake's stupidity, not understanding how someone as "intelligent" or "talented" as him didn't realise something as obvious as finding a more subtle entrance. The blonde man walked with Drake following close behind him until he found a man-hole which was further away.

"Here," he said. "If we go down this way, I doubt we'll get noticed too quickly."

Drake nodded his head as Mellow knelt down and tweaked the cover a little before pulling it off the hole.

"I'll go down first," the once-dead male stated before climbing down the ladder. He stepped onto the ground silently and tip-toed ahead, Drake doing exactly what he did before opening up his tablet again. Mello saw that the boy was about to speak, but used his hand to tell him to be quiet. The pair stood still and stared at each other for a moment before Mello continued to walk silently, his young associate following close behind him.

It only took a few moments until Mellow held out his arm to stop Drake from walking. He peeked around a corner, seeing nobody but hearing distanct voices. Drake's one eye widened. Mello gestured for Drake to follow him again, silently heading towards the voices. Drake looked terrified, gulping before staggering after his partner.

More bars became visible on the Wi-Fi signal, indicating that the duo were getting closer to the hideout. Soon enough, Drake noticed that five bars were full.

They were close.

Knowing this, Mello turned around and finally spoke, albeit very quietly.

"Stay here," he commanded. "I'll be back shortly."

The man turned around and prepared to continue walking by himself, only to feel Drake grab him by the wrist. At first he seemed shocked, but then he frowned as he glared back at the younger male.

"Hey," he hissed. "Let go, you idiot. The Akacho needs rescuing, and I don't have all day. You got that?"

Drake just stared up at Mello silently, his grip not loosening. His expression was one of concern and fear. Mello's eyes narrowed, but then he remembered something. Something that always made Drake nervous when someone he knew was entering a dangerous, enemy-filled area.

The blonde man turned back around and knelt in front of the boy. "Listen. I'm not a fool. I know at times my emotions can get the better of me, but I usually think before I act. I know that I was never number one back at Wammy's House, but I was still better than everyone else. I have brains. I have skill. I don't plan to let any of that go to waste, y'hear?"

"I know..." Drake murmured in response. "But it's not you I'm worried about. I just don't like being left alone."

Mello stared down at Drake, his expression vacant, before he whacked him across the head. Not hard enough to make him yelp in pain, but hard enough to make him wince and rub his head.

"Damn it, Drake, man up," he scoffed, rising back to his full height. "Stay put. I'll be back in a few minutes."

With that, Mello left Drake to sit at a sewer corner by himself.

...

Saya sat and silently stared at the floor, still injured from earlier. She planned to remain strong for the sake of her group. She could never let them die. She could never destroy the Red Butterflies.

There had to be a way out of this. There was always a way. The Blue Dragonflies may have been a rival group, but with Lamia taking on the role of the new Tonbo, this group was hardly on par with Saya's gang anymore. Lamia was a hot-headed young woman who definitely had a minor gender complex. She was troubled and overly confident, but in the past Saya had always won against her.

Back when Saya and Lamia were young teenagers, they were forced to help their respective gangs. They'd fight each other when their organizations came face-to-face. With Lamia being a few years younger than Saya, she was already at a disadvantage. Saya had also been trained harshly by her father, so she knew how to properly take down foes. Lamia had quite a few scars on her body which proved that Saya was stronger than her, and she'd end up with more scars once Saya found out how to free herself.

...

Mello pressed his back against the sewer wall, narrowing his eyes as two men seemed to exit a room. They were talking and didn't notice the young man, walking further and further away until they were out of sight. Mello would have shot them both, but he didn't want to draw attention to himself. Instead he let the two men wander off before he slowly crept down the passage they had just come from.

Now the area was starting to look like a hideout. There were heavy doors which would never be found in a regular sewer. Mello pulled one door open, doing his best to not make a sound. He looked from left to right, noticing that the coast was clear. Once again he started creeping through the sewer passages, looking into each "room" he passed by.

Eventually he caught sight of a room with the heavy door firmly closed. Two people were stood guarding it. The man thought for a moment before an idea came to his mind.

The young male pulled out his handgun and fired it at the water twice. The two guards heard the sounds and shouted before running right towards where Mello was currently crouching. They couldn't see him since he was just by a wall which led down another fork, but once the two were close enough he stepped out and grabbed them both, slamming their heads together. The two men immediately fell unconscious.

Mello took the mask from one of the men, putting it over his face. He dragged the two unconscious bodies down the passage he was just hiding in until he reached an empty room, placing them both in there before tightly shutting the door.

The young man ran towards the door the two guards had been protecting, yanking it open. Inside, he saw a beaten young woman wearing a red cloak, sitting tied to a chair. She looked up sharply, glaring right at him.

 _'Wrong room,'_ Mello thought, though he noticed that this woman was wearing red. She must have been associated with the Red Butterflies, the group which the Akacho led.

Mello lifted his mask slightly and approached her, seeing that she looked incredibly defensive.

"Come on, I'm getting you outta here," he said to her, stepping behind the woman's chair as he began to undo her binds. "But I'm gonna need you to help me find the Akacho."

"The Akacho...?" the blonde woman responded in a weak voice.

"Yeah. I'm assuming you're part of the Red Butterflies... right?" Mello's eyes narrowed for a moment. This better not be somebody completely useless...

"...Who sent you?" the female reacted, her brown eyes glaring weakly up at the man.

"Does it matter?" Mello huffed as he finished untying the captive. "Look, we don't have much time, so let's go find your leader before someone finds out what's going on here."

"I don't have a leader..." the young Italian revealed quietly. Mello stared at her, looking somewhat frustrated.

"What do you mean?" he asked, his tone a little snappy. "Who are you, then?!"

"I'm..." the woman, Saya, hesitated before sighing and finishing her sentence. "I'm... the Akacho."

Mello froze a little. The Akacho was this young woman? This young woman who looked more like someone who should be in a magazine? But... Near said that the Akacho was male...

The young man shook his head to regain his thoughts, unable to process what he had just heard.

"...Right," was all he could say before fully taking off his blue mask and dropping it on the floor. He helped the young woman stand up and carefully led her out of the room. "Come with me, I'll take you to my associate. He'll get you out of here while I-"

Suddenly, Drake could be heard screaming. Mello's eyes widened. "Shit..." he muttered, lifting Saya up onto his back. He ran as fast as he could, making his way all the way back to where he left Drake.

The good news was that Drake was still there.

The bad news was that Lamia stood with a gun pointed right at his head.

Mello's eyes widened at the sight, seeing the short-haired woman grin at him.

"Ah, so there was a second intruder after all," she smirked.

The young man dropped Saya onto the floor, not exactly caring about her injuries over Drake's life.

"Let him go!" he demanded. The young woman only chuckled at Mello's anger.

"Not until you hand over my prisoner," she replied calmly. Mello grit his teeth.

"Over my dead body," he hissed, knowing what he was implying. Lamia grinned.

"So be it," she responded before suddenly turned her gun on the man. Without hesitation, she pulled the trigger.

Knowing that she would make this move, Mello dived out of the way. He pulled out his own handgun and aimed at the young woman, firing at her leg. She ran down a sewer passage to avoid the bullet all together.

"Damn," Mello rasped, pushing himself up to his feet before sprinting after her. He aimed once again at her leg and fired, but narrowly missed. Lamia turned around briefly as she ran, firing back at him. Mello ducked a little, barely avoiding the shot. He picked up the pace, following the mafioso as she turned a sharp corner. Naturally Mello was a faster runner than Lamia, so managed to catch up to her. He lunged forward and tackled her down violently, pinning her down onto her back. Lamia struggled violently, but Mello was able to hold her still.

"Where is your leader?!" he interrogated. "Where's the Tonbo?!"

Lamia glared up at him silently. Mello was about to ask again, but realised fairly quickly that the very woman he was holding down was the "man" he was looking for.

Two female mafia leaders when he was led to believe that they were both men. This was unexpected.

"...You sly bitch," he hissed quietly. "You're the Tonbo..."

"You will address me as Lamia, lady-boy," Lamia snapped.

"I'll call you whatever the hell I want," Mello asserted. "And you're hardly one to talk; you look like a drag queen."

"You should seriously look in a mirror," Lamia growled, only to have Mello wrap a hand around her throat firmly.

"Be quiet," he commanded. "You're coming with me whether you like it or not, _Lamia._ I know that you're not only the leader of this mafia organization, but you're also the killer known as Mafia-Kira."

Lamia fell silent, her stare growing more and more hateful. So her identity had been uncovered both ways by this man she didn't even know.

This man who, to those who did know him, was supposed to be dead.

How poor for her self-esteem. She had been caught by a dead man. And even worse: Saya seemed as though she was involved in all of this. She had been rescued by this man, so now she was most likely going to stick with him for whatever reason.

While everything was bad on her end, for Mello this was perfect. He had rescued and caught Lamia Tonbo, the one otherwise known as Mafia-Kira. Now he just had to get out of here with Drake and Saya.

This had been a successful mission.

 **~End of Chapter~**


	19. Restrain

**~Restrain~**

Yoru approached his older brother, seeing that he was currently on the computer doing some research. He rested his chin between his finger and his thumb as his wide eyes tried to drink in all of the information being displayed on screen, even when the younger male entered the room.

The feminine teen smiled shyly. "Um... hey bro..." he said, holding up a tray of tea and biscuits. "I, uh... brought this up for you."

Lawliet kept his eyes glued to the computer screen, pointing down at the empty area on the desk. "Here, thank you," he thanked, his words lacking true meaning. Yoru was still for a moment before he placed the tray down, then looking to see what the detective was up to.

"Any luck on finding anything?" he asked.

"Not regarding the Kira case," Lawliet responded. "But I have found some information on a different case. Something that might not really interest you."

"And what might that be?" Yoru tested, folding his arms casually.

"It turns out that Mello was the one who caused trouble in Osaka," Lawliet replied. "But from what I've just recently discovered, he was killed about a year ago. It seems as though Mello was resurrected just like I was."

"Mello? ...Who was he again?" Yoru queried, unfamiliar with the name.

"Second best," Lawliet answered simply. "Near was always a step ahead of him, yet I always had hopes for him when he was growing up. Though I suppose I did suspect he'd grow up to be a trouble-maker..."

"I see..." Yoru nodded. "So... he's another person who comes from Wammy's House?"

"Correct," Lawliet confirmed. "I'll be surprised if it turns out he's working with Near; those two never used to get along."

Yoru shrugged his shoulders. "I wouldn't know."

Lawliet glanced over at him. "...No," he said after a pause. "No, you wouldn't."

 _Ding. Dong._

 _"MAKE IT LEAVE ME ALONE!"_

 _ **"There's nothing there!"**_

...

Near sat twirling his hair between his fingers silently, patiently stacking some cards to build some kind of tower. He had heard nothing from the other two, but didn't appear to be worried. He was just waiting.

By now, it had been a good few hours. Matsuda had occassionally turned around to tell him about some new information he discovered, or maybe to ask the odd question, but other than that the atmosphere was silent.

Not for much longer, however, as soon the front door opened. Drake skipped in, looking incredibly happy.

"We got 'em both!" he chirped. "We rescued the Akacho _and_ captured the Tonbo without doing too much damage! Funny story, though, it turns out that they're both women..."

"Drake!" Mello hollered from outside. "Damn it, Drake! Get back out here! Help the Akacho while I deal with Lamia!"

Drake laughed nervously before dashing back outside. He let Saya support herself against him, helping her limp inside. Near watched as the young blonde woman entered the room and winced, sitting down on the couch. Once Drake had made sure she was comfortable he turned and beamed at the albino detective.

"Meet the Akacho!" he introduced dramatically, even using large hand gestures.

Near stared up at the woman blankly, seeing that she wasn't giving him any eye-contact. In fact, she seemed somewhat uncomfortable. Understandable; her true identity had just been exposed.

The atmosphere wasn't silent for very long as Mello dragged Lamia through the front door, the sound of the woman's growls and struggles getting closer to the living room. The young man was able to drag the hand-cuffed woman into the room, throwing her down onto the floor. His cold blue eyes were soon locked onto Near.

"There," he hissed quietly. "This is what you wanted, isn't it? You've got your Akacho. You've got your Mafia-Kira. That's all you wanted me to do, right?"

"Not necessarily," Near responded, seeing sudden hatred burning in Mello's eyes once again. The young detective twirled his hair thoughtfully, staring at nothing in particular as he spoke. "We still need to expose Little-Kira, and once the Akacho heals we'll be able to do that. However, we may need someone to watch over Lamia, depending on how long we keep her here."

"Can't we just send her to the police or something?" Mello huffed. Near shook his head in response to the question.

"I don't trust the police," he stated. "We need to deal with this ourselves. Even if Lamia's killings were not typical "Kira judgements" we still need to consider the fact that there are extreme followers out there, even in the police force. Anyone with a Death Note ends up being known as a god."

"Crazy bastards..." Mello spat viciously to himself, clenching his fists. He had a couple of reasons for hating the Kira cultists - many, actually. The man stood thoughtful for a moment before glancing over at Drake, seeing if he was reacting in a similar way; after all, they both had a mutual reason to hate the cultists. Unfortunately, though, Drake didn't seem to even be aware of what day it was. He just looked as clueless as always.

Nevertheless, Mello turned his attention back to Near. "Alright, fine. I'll be the one to keep an eye on Lamia," he declared. "Nobody else here seems capable, anyway."

Near let a small smile appear on his face, as he always did when Mello willingly cooperated; it just fueled his ego, knowing that someone as dangerous and hot-headed as Mello was working for him and not against him. But the young detective knew that Mello's eyes were on him, and a smile on Near's face of all people was the last thing the blonde man would ever want to see. Especially now, in a moment where he discovered there was still more work to be done. So the smile was quick to fade.

Matsuda, in the very brief and awkward silence which followed Mello's answer to Near's request, decided to speak up. "So, um..." he began, "now that we have Mafia-Kira, does that mean we can go back to focusing on Little-Kira?"

"Yes," Near answered. "Mello will deal with Lamia while the rest of us focus on examining Kage and Yoru. Oh, and for now we will confiscate Lamia's notebook; I won't be particularly happy if any of you touch it."

Lamia's brown eyes were locked onto Near as Mello held her firmly in his grasp. She glared daggers at the white-haired detective, but she remained silent. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she knew she had no power now.

 _..._

Kage had finally gotten back into the habit of writing. Her mother was out, and Raita was downstairs watching the television. It had been rather quiet for a while, and not just because Light was no longer present. Nobody was harassing her. It seemed that she really was getting away with murder; she had beaten Near.

But she knew that she couldn't write Near's name down just yet. Perhaps he hadn't let his guard down. He was dealing with the second Kira and probably had plans to return to examining her; she had to be extremely careful.

The girl checked how many pages of the Death Note she had left. While the notebook itself was infinite the pages were not. She had torn out quite a few pages, but she was also aware that it would be safe to save some for an emergency encounter. And, of course, she had to save some space for Near's name and the names of his associates.

For now, however, Kage knew that she had to maintain her innocent persona while secretly writing down names every now and then, and also she had to make sure that some of her targets died on different dates, seemingly unconnected to one another. If everyone she wrote the name of in this very moment died within forty seconds, someone like Near would obviously predict that the killer is somewhere where they cannot be seen. And judging by the fact that he had Kage on the top of his subject list there was no doubt that he would assume she was responsible if she was in her bedroom doing "homework". So Kage made sure that some of these victims of hers were going to die of a heart attack in a few weeks.

While writing absentmindedly, Kage couldn't help but notice Light's absence. He hadn't appeared for a while. Not since the argument. A part of Kage thought _'good riddance'_ about the situation, considering that Light was always trying to control her into doing things his way, but a part of her missed him. A very small part, that is. In a way, she was just as controlling as Light. She wanted to use him to keep an eye out for trouble. He was able to keep watch over her and the house and warn her of any danger, such as Raita coming up the stairs to see her, and also he was able to watch over Near since he had the actual Death Note. The best part of it was that Light could not be seen by anybody. Unlike Shinigami, who could be seen by anybody who touched the Death Note, Light was only visible to whoever owned the Death Note and any Shinigami. It would be convenient to still have him around...

 _..._

"Aw, have you fallen out with that female human?" Ryuk asked in a mocking tone as he munched on a rotten apple. Light sat on a rock not far from him, his head facing away as his arms remained folded in a grumpy manner. The young man scowled and let out a soft grunt before he closed his eyes, turning his head to face the Death God.

"You need to see her at some point," he reminded. "It's mandatory for the shinigami owner of the Death Note to meet the human. I thought you of all people would remember that."

"Hue hue," Ryuk chuckled. "I would have visited her sooner, but you seem to be taking my place a little too well."

Light was in no mood to pass off a sarcastic "very funny" response, instead deciding to react with disgust due to his terrible mood.

"You should see her," he repeated. "Maybe she'll have a heart attack from seeing your face; that'll be pretty amusing."

"But not very good for you plan to return to the world of the living," Ryuk added. Light clenched his fists, appearing visibly frustrated.

"Oh, she'll bring me back..." he declared. "I just need to make her suffer more of those nightmares. And I will return to her; when I do, I'll make her pity me. No... she'll pity Light Yagami." A somewhat evil grin crossed over his face. "I'll make her witness my memories," he continued. "My childhood. She'll start to feel so emotionally attached to me that she won't want to let me suffer. She may even want me to stay with her until the day of her own death." The teen let out a dark chuckle. "I suppose I technically _will_ be staying with her until the day she dies, because I'll stare down at her and watch as she is killed by the very weapon she is using to kill others. Or even better... I'll kill her without the Death Note so that even the Death Eraser cannot bring her back."

"Your lack of human emotion still surprises me," Ryuk commented in a relatively amused tone. "You may as well be a Shinigami, Light." The boney monster raised to his full height, despite his slouch, once he had finished his apples. "But I'm not interested in you at the moment, so I suppose I will finally greet Kage. Help yourself to any apples while I'm gone."

With that, Ryuk spread his wings and took off. Light watched him with a frown, having not had enough time to react and respond to his final comment. Not interesting? He'll soon change his mind about that. And apples... Light was not interested in eating.

Instead, he decided to wander. He knew to avoid other Shinigami when Ryuk wasn't around since they would mock him even more, and quite honestly he could not be bothered with that. Also, they had the ability to attack him if they really wanted to. Here he was corporeal, so he could not just laugh as others phased through him without realising he was there.

Light found himself by one of the various gaps in the ground which stared into the human world. It was currently unoccupied, so Light chose to sit down quietly and stare. He had never been in control of one of these before, instead watching as Ryuk and other Shinigami manipulated the images being shown, but this time he chose who to watch over.

For a very brief moment he thought about watching over Kage, just to make sure she wasn't getting herself into trouble. But he quickly decided that he did not want to look at her right now, too ashamed of her attitude and disobedience.

Instead... He decided to look at his family.

His mother. His sister.

Though while alive he couldn't care less for them, right now he had nothing else on his mind besides how awkward Kage was. He hadn't seen his family in a while; were they alright?

The scene before him stopped whatever remained of his heart.

His mother was sat on the bathroom floor, looking incredibly sick, as she took a small handful of anti-depressants. Her eyes were red from where she had previously been crying and she hyperventilated loudly from stress. Sorrow. Anxiety.

She was... suffering.

Light scowled slightly. How _weak._ He had gone through all that effort to create the perfect world where nice people like her could be happy, and here she was, crying on the floor...

...Clutching his old baby blanket?

She still had that? After all these years? The blanket he had from the day he was born?

...

...

...

She missed _him._

His mother was grieving for him still. She had lost her husband, then her son. And between those deaths her daughter had been kidnapped and most likely treated like a nobody before returning home as nothing but a traumatized shell.

Light had never once thought about this... And now that he was...

Were those tears in his eyes?

...No, no way! He wouldn't cry for a weak woman!

His mother...

Who was currently on the floor of the bathroom, cradling her son's first blanket as though he was wrapped inside it...

Light's wide, brown eyes were definitely sparkling with tears now. He was watching his own mother suffer and he couldn't even go and see her. Even if he could, she wouldn't be able to see him.

She could get worse...

Would she kill herself even when she still had to protect someone like Sayu?

 _Weak._

No! Not weak!

She was a mother!

 _His_ mother!

"Hey, human!" yelled a voice belonging to a Shinigami, snapping Light out of his conflicting thoughts. "Watching anything interesting while Ryuk ain't here?"

Light stared back at the Shinigami who had spoken, making sure to stop the perspective being shown above his mother in case any of the Shinigami chose to steal her lifespan.

"...Not really..." he spoke quietly before standing off and walking quickly. He was not talkative with the other inhabitants of this world.

As he walked, he noticed just how... calm he was now. No longer having a war in his mind, no longer feeling... _sadness._

One could say he was back to normal.

 **~End of Chapter~**


	20. Reencounter

**~Reencounter~**

Having finished with her little writing session, Kage heard a knock at her door. Her parents were still not home, so she could only assume that it was her older brother. The gothic teen made sure that her notebook was out of sight before she called out to her sibling: "Come in!"

Raita twisted the doorknob and opened the door carefully, peeping his head into the room in an almost curious manner before he smiled kindly.

"Hey," he greeted. "That new film's on the TV."

"Which one?" Kage asked blankly, leaning against her desk chair.

"That new one with Hideki Ryuga," Raita answered. "Y'know, that guy you like."

Immediately Kage grabbed her pen from her desk and threw it at her older brother in an embarrassed manner, earning a flinch and a laugh from the boy.

"Shut up," she snarled through clenched teeth.

"Come on, Kay-Kay, it's been forever since we had movie night," Raita responded, pouting slightly.

Movie night. That was something they would have when they were younger. Both of them would snuggle up and watch a movie together, and as Kage grew older Raita became amused at her interest in the popular celebrity Hideki Ryuga. All girls adored him, even the alternative ones like Kage. But as Kage grew she grew less fond of the idea of movie night. She didn't feel like getting cozy in a blanket anymore. She didn't want to turn out the lights and eat popcorn while waiting for her mother to return. She just wanted to stay upstairs and do nothing.

...Who was she kidding? She couldn't miss the television premiere of Hideki Ryuga's new film!

"...Alright," the girl growled, marching to her room's exit and pushing her brother to get past him. "But only because I miss movie night; nothing else!"

Raita chuckled to himself and shook his head, following his younger sister. "I have the right to believe otherwise," he muttered, mainly to himself so that he didn't cause Kage to throw a teenage tantrum.

Kage was instantly sitting on the sofa, wrapped up in a large blanket which was usually draped over the sofa's back. Raita entered the room and almost laughed at the sight before he said: "I'll just go get the popcorn."

Raita did what he said and heated some popcorn kernels in the microwave before returning the room, plopping down beside his sister. She refused to share the blanket with him silently, but realised that he was, in return, hogging the popcorn. Kage sighed and grumbled, snuggling closer to her brother. She lazily threw the blanket around him as well, noticing how he smiled smugly and held the bowl of popcorn out to her. With an empty stare she gave Raita a warning glare before taking a handful of popcorn. Kage's eyes were locked onto the television screen as she devoured her snack, but she made sure to hide any physical reaction Raita could pick up on as Ryuga made his appearance on screen.

But Kage ended up tilting her head slightly as she reached for more popcorn. Ryuga was talking about "finding the perfect girl" and such - the usual for a film with him as the title character. But this film seemed a little more angsty, which is what really drew Kage to it more than anything. Yet she found herself unable to really focus on Ryuga's words; she was more focused on his face, but that wasn't because she was mesmerized by it or anything. He actually looked a lot like Light. His hair was longer and differed slightly in colour, but overall he resembled her ghostly...

...Companion was probably a word too strong to use at this point.

But Hideki Ryuga definitely resembled Light. Or was she just imagining things? Did he look like Light to her simply because she was still somewhat missing his company? Surely she would've noticed the similarities before...

Kage vaguely remembered thinking that Light was attractive when she first encountered him. She thought about how any girl would love his presence simply because of how attractive he was, but she also recalled how she saw herself as superior to girls like that. She never fell in love with anybody's appearance, and she had taught herself that the attractive ones weren't always the nicest.

Look at Light. He's the prime example of a beautiful jerk. He used his good looks to get others to do what he wanted, and he used his puppy eyes to make himself seem like the sweetest guy on Earth.

Maybe Hideki Ryuga was the same. Maybe in real life he was just as bad as Light.

...No, impossible. Light was one of the most evil men in history. At least, he should be. His actions were glorified by many, and he was easier to understand than other mass-murderers. So much so that she had to remember that she was no better herself...

But she could never compare Ryuga's personality to Light's. Even in interviews he seemed like a genuinely nice guy. She had watched them all in her spare time, not long before she received the Death Note. They took her mind off her horrid school life and she had silently wished that she would meet a man like him one day...

Light was not that man. That was one thing that was certain.

The girl couldn't help but glance up at her brother for a moment. He wasn't like Light, either. In school he was rather popular and Kage was even aware that some people in her class liked him a lot, and she knew more than anyone that Raita was no jerk. He just got on with his life and enjoyed having fun with the people he cared about.

Coming to think of it, maybe her little theory was wrong. Not all pretty boys were Lights.

But what about the not-so-pretty boys?

 _..._

"Lawliet?" spoke Yoru as he re-entered the room where his brother worked. "Have you um... discovered anything?"

"Deaths are occurring as usual," Lawliet answered without even turning to acknowledge his younger sibling's presence. "Also please refrain from calling me by my real name in case anybody is listening."

Yoru let out a quiet sigh. "Sorry..." he apologized guiltily.

After a brief pause, Lawliet spoke up while he kept his dark eyes fixed to the computer screen and his thumb close to his lips. "I know exactly who the killer is," he declared. "Both killers."

"Both?" Yoru reacted, indigo eyes widening a little.

"Yes," Lawliet replied monotonously. "There are two killers. A surge in death rates within the mafia caught my attention. I've been involved in various cases involving the mafia so I was able to get in contact with quite a few individuals who were able to assist me in this case. A leader of one of the strongest underground mafia groups is responsible for the deaths of the rival group members, and I have deduced that the leader is the leader of the Blue Dragonflies, Lamia Tonbo, who only just replaced their father, Cyan Tonbo."

"How could you possibly know all that?" Yoru asked, amazed. He always had been fascinated at his brother's skill, even if he had only seen very little of it.

"It's quite simple," Lawliet stated. "The Blue Dragonflies like to play dirty, but everyone knows that there is always a better group than the one that cheats. The rival group is one feared worldwide, yet actual encounters have been rare for most other mafia associations. This group is known as the Red Butterflies, led by a mysterious individual known as the Akacho. It's often difficult to tell when one Akacho replaces the previous, but from what I can tell it seems that there is a new leader. In the past the Red Butterflies were slightly more active and aggressive, but things seem to be much different now." The young man pushed his bottom lip upwards slightly with his thumb as he focused himself even more. "It is safe to assume that the new Akacho is young, being the child of the previous, which proves my theory even further. Lamia Tonbo is also young and has only recently taken charge, so obvious they want to humiliate the Red Butterflies and prove that they lead the superior association. Thus when Lamia was able to obtain a Death Note they began wiping out any possible competition, including their own associates, in order to prove that they were a strong individual. But they will not stop until they eliminate their true rival, the Akacho."

"...Huh..." was all Yoru had to say in response, the delivery of the sound being a little slow as he processed all of that information. The effeminate teen stared down at his feet silently for a moment before looking back up at the detective. "So... that's one killer out of the two you claim to exist... What about the second one...?"

"I was able to figure out the other killer from the very beginning," Lawliet admitted. "But I have no desire to capture them."

Yoru blinked in confusion. "Eh? Why not?"

"Because if I make a move on the other Kira then you will no doubt get involved," Lawliet revealed. "I'm going to leave this case to Near."

Yoru's eyes widened and he stepped forwards, clenching his fists. "Wait, what are you talking about?!" he exclaimed. "I will be fine, I can handle this! I thought you wanted to beat Near!"

"I have beaten Near," Lawliet corrected calmly, still not turning around to face the younger boy. "He just isn't aware of it."

"Well, make him aware of it!" Yoru snapped suddenly. "More people are going to die if you don't act now! It sounds to me like you know who both the killers are and you're just not bothering to get involved!"

"Somehow I doubt my involvement would be significant to the death toll," Lawliet said in response. "Even if it was, catching the first Kira would be highly problematic. Near may also have it figured out already; my guess is that he has a plan to expose Kira, but the plan was delayed by the second Kira's appearance. Considering that he was clearly the one who revived Mello it looks as though he has been busy formulating a plan to kidnap the second killer, Lamia Tonbo. In fact, he may even have Lamia right now. Soon enough Near will bring both killers to justice, and maybe he'll even let Mello receive some of the credit."

"...Hmph," Yoru grumbled before turning and marching out of the room. Lawliet did not watch him leave, but once the teen had left he decided to turning his head ever so slightly in a thoughtful manner. Yoru definitely reminded him of a certain someone he knew in his youth...

 _..._

Mello stood silently in the corner of the basement, his cold blue eyes locked onto Lamia. The young woman was tied to a chair by an old table in the centre of the room, a tense expression upon her face. She had grown weary of staring back at Mello so had decided to just vacantly stare ahead, waiting for what was to come: interrogation.

Near was the one to hobble down the creaky wooden steps, twirling a handful of his hair. Matsuda followed almost nervously, and behind him limped Saya. As soon as Saya entered the room Lamia scowled and attempted to free herself from her binds, but unfortunately she did not succeed. Mello seemed surprised that Saya was already trying to get back on her feet, but at the same time he understood that there was no rest in the mafia for the weak and injured. As a leader she had to prove herself worthy. She had to be strong.

"I assume that you want to ask her a few questions, Saya," Near spoke, twirling his hair thoughtfully. Saya's dark eyes were locked onto her rival.

"Yes," Saya answered in her thick Italian accent. "She has a lot to answer for."

"She does indeed," Near agreed. "I'd rather not get myself involved with organized crime, so she's all yours. Now while you deal with her I'm going to revise my research on Little-Kira, and when you're ready I will discuss the plan I have in mind to expose them."

Saya nodded her head. "Understood," she responded, never letting her eyes move away from Lamia.

Near then turned on his heel. "Mello, come with me," he instructed. "You can bring some food down for our guest later."

"Hmph," Mello huffed, pushing himself away from the wall he was leaning against so that he could follow Near up the steps and out of the basement. He closed the door behind him, knowing that the sound of Lamia screaming in agony could soon be coming from the ominous lower room.

Drake was currently sat playing on the PlayStation as usual, with Matsuda reading a newspaper on the living room sofa. The older man looked up from the paper as he saw Near and Mello enter the room, though in all honesty Mello's presence still intimidated him.

"It looks like we may have to wait for some time," Near announced. He wasn't surprised to see that Drake wasn't listening, but at least Matsuda was there to give a response.

"How come?" the man asked.

"We need Saya to expose Little-Kira," Near explained. "Once she has fully recovered and dealt with Lamia we can use her and her gang as part of the exposure plan."

"When will she be done with Lamia?" Matsuda asked curiously but slowly, expecting to hear the worst.

"When she's heard what she wants to hear from her," Near answered. "She wants answers. She wants Lamia to surrender to her. She wants to know everything about the Blue Dragonflies. I know for a fact that she won't kill Lamia because she knows that we still need to hear from her. Not only that, but the Red Butterflies are known to let their enemies suffer without being tortured to death. They have their ways of making their mark so their victims can never forget the encounter."

Near glanced over at Drake and could immediately tell that he still wasn't listening. His expression changed slightly in a way that made it seem relieved, but other than that it remained vacant.

"We'll get the rest of the information we need from Lamia in due time," Near continued. "Even if the interrogation process is longer than the Little-Kira case itself, we will get our answers from her. And when we're done, we can simply let Saya kill her."

Matsuda almost shuddered at the words. "That sounds kinda dark for you, Near..." he muttered.

"She's a mafia leader with a high kill count," Near reminded. "And I bet she's been involved in other crimes involving kidnapping, too."

"Who hasn't kidnapped someone while they were in a mafia?" Mello chimed in, arms folded as he once again stood leaning against the wall. His expression was just as cold as always. Cold with that hint of thought.

Near simply twirled his hair again. "I thought you'd interject," he murmured. Mello narrowed his eyes and looked away irritably, hating it whenever Near claimed to "predict" his actions. His icy blue eyes were now on Drake. While the boy was still intensely focused on whatever driving game he was playing, Mello was able to see that he looked a little tense.

He had been listening.

 _..._

The movie had finished, and Kage was thoroughly satisfied. Ryuga's performance was as good as always, but she refused to let any emotion towards the celebrity show. No way was Raita going to find out that deep down she still had girlish thoughts and feelings, even if most of them had definitely died painful deaths over the years.

"You going to bed now?" Raita asked from the couch, seeing his sister heading for the staircase through room's the open door. He was now watching some old war film.

"Yeah," Kage answered, looking back at him as she stood on the first step of the stairs.

"Want me to bring you some extra-buttery toast?" Raita offered, chuckling softly.

"No thanks," Kage replied. "I'm full of popcorn."

Again, Raita chuckled. "Alright," he responded. "Sleep well, sis."

"Night," Kage last said before heading up to her gloomy room. Her head was down as she made her way inside, closing the door behind her. Just before she opened her drawers she flicked on the lightswitch, but she immediately spotted an unusual shadow on the ground one the light was on. As she looked up, Kage felt her heart stop.

Standing there before her was a legendary Shinigami.

Kage simply stood there, frozen. How was she supposed to react? Was she supposed to scream? Was she supposed to leave the room and come back in? Was she supposed to ignore it? Or was she supposed to talk to it?

"It's nice to see that humans have such welcoming manners," the Shinigami, Ryuk, spoke sarcastically. Kage was still staring with wide eyes and a partially-open mouth, but she was then able to gulp and regain her senses.

"Who are you?" she asked quietly, not wanting Raita to hear her.

"I am Ryuk," Ryuk answered simply. "Let's just say that you and I have a mutual friend."

Mutual friend? Who could this Shinigami possibly be friends with?

...Oh. Light. Of course.

But Kage remembered the dream she had not so long ago...

Light was being tormented by these creatures.

Did that mean that he was currently being tormented now?

"Where is he?" Kage interrogated, her teeth clenched together as she spoke.

Ryuk laughed to himself. "Hue hue hue. You sound like you miss him," he noticed. "Humans are so interesting; why would they care for someone who barely exists? Why do humans care for people they do not even know? I've seen humans crying when famous humans die. Are all humans truly that emotionally weak?"

Kage narrowed her eyes. "I asked you where Light was," she snarled. "So where is he?"

"He's in the Shinigami Realm," Ryuk answered, deliberately pausing to see the anger in Kage's face before he continued. "Don't worry, he's always there whenever you can't see him. Nothing bad ever happens to him... yet."

The girl's unusual green eyes widened a little before they narrowed. "Yet?" she repeated.

"Inevitably you will die one day and take his place," Ryuk clarified. "But you already know that, don't you?"

Kage stared down at her feet. Ryuk had obviously seen or heard the conversations she had with Light in the past. The girl didn't want to answer, but her lack of response and almost-sorrowful posture made it pretty obvious; she knew that one day she would replace Light, and she knew that Light would suffer every death he ever caused before being completely erased from existence.

Ryuk laughed again. "I can tell by your reaction that Light's already made this clear to you," he noted.

"He will suffer every death he ever caused," Kage recapped, slowly lifting her head to look up blankly at the Shinigami. Ryuk stared at her with his usual, barely-changing expression, intrigued with what the girl was about to say.

"Light killed a lot of people," Kage continued. "If someone else died while I was the "ghost" of the Death Note then that would mean the same would happen to me. Light would still be suffering his punishment and I would be there at the same time as him." Her blank expression hardened into a glare as she ended her little speech. "I won't let him be destroyed."

Ryuk was silent for a moment before he once again let out a laugh. "Oh, how interesting!" he remarked, but his reaction only filled Kage with rage and anger. "A human could never make a difference in the Shinigami Realm! You would be powerless!"

As Ryuk entered some kind of laughing fit, Kage merely stood there with her fists clenched. She'd find a way to do something if she ended up joining Light, but she didn't want to plan that far ahead. The girl had no plans to die any time soon, so she knew that she had to focus on keeping alive and safe so that Light didn't suffer.

Or she could just retrieve the Death Eraser from Near somehow and erase Light's name...

"Leave her alone, Ryuk," came a familiar voice. Ryuk's laughter stopped and Kage felt her fists loosen up, her expression softening as her eyes widened slightly. The girl turned her head and saw him there, standing beside her.

"Light..." she muttered quietly.

Light's eyes were locked onto Ryuk, and Ryuk stared down at him in surprise. How was he supposed to react? Light literally had no power compared to him, and now he was challenging him?

...No. He knew Light too well.

The teenage ghost was staring up at him with such a determined and firm glare, appearing desperate to ward the Shinigami off, but Ryuk knew that this was an act.

An act to make Kage like him.

If Kage liked Light then she would feel more compelled to erase his name, and once that was done then Light would finally be playing the Kira game once again.

So Ryuk decided to play along. "You have my sincere apologies," he responded to Light, sounding highly sarcastic. "Forgive me, Kage Hikari, I can get cranky when nobody feeds me apples."

"Leave, Ryuk!" Light yelled suddenly.

Oh, he was good.

Ryuk was silent and still again before he turned around. "As you wish," he muttered in response before phasing through the window and spreading his large black wings. The Shinigami then took off into the night.

Kage and Light both watched him disappear into the distance, and once he was gone Kage turned to face the thoughtful-looking ghost.

"You came back," she acknowledged. "I thought you'd be gone for longer."

"So did I," Light replied, sounding honest. He looked at her with his puppy-like brown eyes. "I'll admit, I still think your ideas are dumb, but if I'm not around then you'll have that Death God constantly on your back. I figured that you'd probably prefer me to him."

Kage almost looked suspicious. "What makes you say that?" she questioned. Light merely shrugged his shoulders.

"Because I thought that if I had to choose between you and him, I would choose you," he answered in a casual tone. Kage actually looked surprised by the comment.

"For real?" she asked, not really believing him. She sounded embarrassed when she asked that, as if she didn't like being appreciated.

Light nodded his head seriously. "Why would I want to be followed by a monster?" he asked her. "I'd rather be followed by another human, even if they were a ghost."

Kage still didn't seem to really like Light right now, so she turned away and folded her arms. To her he sounded like a child who was too awkward to apologize for something they did, so instead of apologizing they acted all sweet.

Light immediately knew that Kage still had a negative view of him, which almost made him clench his fists considering that he was definitely the better Kira, but he had to be the man Kage wanted him to be. He had to woo her.

"...I'm sorry for before," he finally apologized, making Kage perk up a little. She turned around to see him scratching the back of his head awkwardly, looking away to the side.

"I was just a little angry," the ghost continued. "Sometimes being invisible to all humans but one is... daunting. And I'm not entirely fond of the Shinigami Realm."

"...It sounds like an awful place," Kage agreed. She was under the impression that Light had no idea of her dream, so whenever she mentioned it she was going to keep the sentence relatively cryptic. But what she didn't notice was Light's small glance as she looked away from him. He _knew_ that she was talking about the dream, and that's exactly what he wanted from her. If she was thinking about that dream, then she was pitying him.

"...Hmph," Light responded quietly. "Well, it's late for a living human. You should probably get ready for bed."

"Right," Kage nodded. She took off her signature trench coat and hung it up and almost began to remove her shirt before turning around. "Hey, you still need to go away!" she snapped at him, her face bright red.

Light chuckled at her response and shook his head. "You barely gave me any time to move," he said before walking, phasing through the door to the bedroom. His comment was rather playful and banterous, and Kage easily picked up on that.

Every word counted. Every chuckle counted. Every single movement counted.

The littlest things would mean so much to Kage, and the little things could cause bigger things.

The butterfly effect could occur, and from making short and sweet remarks to the girl Light knew that he would be able to persuade her to bring him back to life, and once he was alive again...

Kage would be history and the true Kira would be reborn.

 **~End of Chapter~**


	21. Redhead

**~Redhead~**

Lamia deliberately looked away from Saya in an ignorant manner, imagining that the woman didn't exist. Saya could see that the woman was doing this deliberately so wanted to make sure that she got her point across: she wasn't playing games today.

The blonde-haired Italian reached forwards and grabbed the back of Lamia's head - her hair being almost too short to grasp properly - and almost slammed her face into the table in front of her, but instead she leaned forwards and met the young woman eye-to-eye.

"Know that I don't intend to kill you," she spat viciously, her cold brown eyes almost visibly flaming. "N still needs answers from you about the Kira case, but that is not what I am interested in. Not only do I want to avenge many of the people you killed but I want you to feel the pain you made me suffer. Little girls like you need to be put in their place."

"Tch," hissed Lamia as she flashed a grin. "You don't know how to hurt people, Saya. You don't share the same hunger for blood as your father. Your leadership will be the end of your association!"

Without warning Saya brought her fist up into the woman's face. Since she already had one hand on the back of her head Lamia was forced to feel the full impact of the blow, and instantly her nose started bleeding. Saya pulled her head back and finally released it from her grip, slamming both hands down onto the table as she leaned in again.

" _Si_ ," she agreed. "I do not share my father's hunger for blood, but I grew up watching him break bones and remove limbs. I watched him kidnap children and return their eyes or fingers to their families. I saw so much violence that I became numb to it." The mafia boss held up a pocket knife which she flipped open and held up to Lamia's face. "So in case you were under the impression that I'm hesitant when it comes to torturing others until they break, I'm sorry to disappoint you."

Lamia's dark eyes narrowed as she looked beyond the knife and kept her focus on Saya.

" _Fatti sotto_ ," she challenged through clenched teeth. Saya frowned, her expression mostly void of emotion besides repressed hatred.

"As you desire," she responded, preparing to use her knife where it would hurt the most.

 _..._

 _A dream._

"Come on, smart boy, what's the answer?!" jeered one of the bullies currently chasing a small boy with light brown hair.

The boy sprinted, panting heavily as he almost tripped over his own feet a few times. He was running down the street, brown eyes wide with fear. Rocks were being thrown at him, some managing to hit his back which was thankfully protected by his school backpack. He heard the mocking laughter of the boys fade away as he approached his home.

"Yeah, run away, ya little nerd!" laughed one bully.

"That's what you get for being so nerdy!" snickered another.

But the boys instantly gasped and ran as the boy's father stepped out of the house. His brown eyes locked onto the children as they sprinted, yelling to each other in fear.

The small boy ran to his father and hid behind him, clinging to his waist. "A-Are they gone, dad...?" he whimpered into his back. The father watched the other boys for a moment before turning around and hugging his son, stroking his head softly.

"They're gone," he told him. "Come on; let's get you inside."

 _..._

Night had passed. Yoru was in his kitchen making himself a cup of tea. The teenager was still furious that his older brother, the world's greatest detective, was refusing to act in order to catch Kira. Why would he just sit back and let all of those people die when he could save them before Kira killed anyone else?

Lawliet had finally left his computer to come downstairs for a cup of coffee, stopping when he saw that his younger brother was in the kitchen.

"Good morning, Yoru," he greeted.

"Hmph," Yoru huffed, grabbing his tea as he stormed past him and into the living room. Lawliet watched him with a blank expression on his face. Obviously Yoru was still mad. It was understandable, for Lawliet knew who the true Kira was, and if Yoru came to the same conclusion then he would do everything in his power to deny the truth.

Lawliet remained in the kitchen as he drank his coffee, but then he heard the shuffling sound of a coat in the hallway. When he looked he could see his younger sibling putting on his black jacket with a white wool lining at the neck.

"Where are you going?" the detective asked, coffee in hand.

"I'm going to meet with Kage," Yoru growled angrily as he slipped his shoes on. "And don't bother asking about what her and I plan to do; it's none of your business." Not even giving Lawliet the chance to respond, Yoru swung open the door and stormed out of the house, slamming the door shut behind him. Lawliet remained speechless and, deep down, worried; he had already figured out who "Little-Kira" was, but now his mind was beginning to wander...

 _..._

Near sat on a laptop which was resting on the low coffee table, meaning that he had to sit on the floor to use it. All he was doing was revising the evidence he had against the shortlist of Kira suspects. Matsuda was on the larger computer in the corner of the living room, doing the same thing as Near. Mello had taken over the television and was sat with his arms folded, watching some crime drama, which he had no interest in, to pass the time. Drake was sat beside him on the same sofa, playing on a handheld console. Usually the faint sound of video game "pew" and "boop" sound effects would be heard coming from his device, but for once he had earphones jammed into his ears. The faint sound of the game could still be heard, showing that he had the volume turned up to the max.

The atmosphere was silent and tense. The harrowing screams from Lamia could be heard coming from the basement, although they were muffled. Both Near and Mello ignored the shrieks while Drake couldn't hear anything at all due to his earphones, but Matsuda seemed to feel the most unnerved. He found it difficult to work while hearing a young woman being tortured.

Eventually Matsuda turned around in his chair so that he was looking at Near. "Can't we get her to stop?" he asked. As soon as he spoke he heard Mello's response.

"Tch," the blond man huffed. "What kind of men work for you, Near? You must hire the weakest employees possible. Are they all rejects from professional companies because they are cowards?"

"Unlike you, I don't hire bloodthirsty maniacs," Near retorted simply, twirling his white hair between his fingers. He then responded to Matsuda without turning to look at him. "We have to wait until Saya is satisfied with Lamia's answers. By letting her get what she wants, she will do us a favour in return, and that favour is getting Little-Kira to reveal themselves."

"Hmph," Mello grunted, once again glancing at Drake. The kid was still paying no attention; in most scenarios Mello would whack the little console out of his hands out of frustration, but right now it may have been best to leave him be. So the young man continued to stare at the television with a dead gaze.

Lamia's screams seemed to die down after a while, but nobody knew exactly how long it took. Had she lost the energy to scream? Had she calmed down? Had she fallen unconscious? Had Saya finally stopped? It was difficult to tell. But Saya's footsteps could be heard returning to the main floor of the house, and into the living room she came. Everyone but Drake faced her.

"She has said enough," the woman spoke. "She has revealed what he intentions were, and she has made it quite clear that she has no connections to others who may have used the Death Note."

"Are you sure of this, Saya?" Near queried. Saya nodded her head once.

"She only wanted to wipe out her rivals," Saya explained. "She has no connections to Little-Kira. As for her Death Note... well, she went on and on about how the Shinigami took it from her."

"So she's no longer the owner," Near concluded, watching as Saya raised a brow in confusion. She didn't really believe that the Shinigami race existed. Nonetheless, Near continued to speak while tiwlring his hair thoughtfully. "It is quite likely that she will lose all of her memories of the Death Note, or she will be killed. If she is not dead in a few days... she's all yours, Saya."

Again, Saya nodded her head. "I will bring her back to my group," she announced. "It is only appropriate to seal her fate in front of her worst enemies."

"I couldn't agree more," Near murmured. "Well then, now that Mafia-Kira has been dealt with, I think we should finally put an end to Little-Kira's reign of terror."

"We will," Saya agreed. "I will contact my group tonight; we will make the final preparations for the showdown with Little-Kira."

"Will you be well enough for the confrontation?" asked Near.

"These wounds are nothing to me," Saya said before leaving the room. The tension seemed to leave with her, but silence followed her exit.

"Mello," Near spoke up after the brief pause, catching the elder male's attention, "go and check on Lamia to see what state she is in, and give her some water. She'll be needing it."

Mello let out a frustrated sigh and pushed himself off the couch, dragging himself reluctantly out of the room. He'd rather not be the one to deal with the redheaded woman, but then again nobody else had the stomach to fathom Saya's level of damage.

 _..._

A knock on Kage's door was all Kage needed to hear. She recognized Yoru's knock and knew he was coming to visit today, so whipped on her long black coat and black boots. "I'll be back later in the evening, Raita!" she called out to her older sibling.

"Okay, be careful!" Raita responded from the living room.

"Sure thing," Kage practically muttered, opening the door and seeing Yoru standing with his hands in his pockets. He looked concerned but still managed a little smile.

"Hey," he greeted. "Tea room?"

"Yeah, sure," Kage replied, stepping out of her house and closing the door behind her. The walk into the city was going to be a very long one, so it was not surprising to hear Yoru speak up not long after leaving the farmland.

"Kage," he began. "There's something I've gotta tell you."

Kage glanced at her childhood companion with slight worry. "What's the matter?" she asked him.

"It's my brother," Yoru confessed after a sigh. "He's... well, he said he knows who Kira is. The current Kira."

Kage's eyes went wide with fear, but luckily Yoru was not looking at her as he paced casually. Even Light, who walked beside Kage (albeit the fact his feet didn't touch the ground), looked immediately concerned.

"He said he knows who Kira is," Yoru repeated, "but he won't reveal their identity to me. Not only that, but he's waiting for Near to get to Kira first. He's such an idiot... He's going to let so many people die just because he can't be bothered catching Kira himself!"

"L knows it's you," Light whispered to Kage, despite knowing that Yoru could not hear him. "He won't tell your friend because he doesn't want to hurt his feelings. He knows that Yoru would deny the truth and react emotionally, so he's letting Near get to you instead. Although I still do not know who Near believes is Kira, even after keeping my eyes on him." Kage did not react at all to his words, which Light expected in the current situation. "I'd advise you to kill L, but no doubt that would only make you a more obvious suspect. Even Yoru would be willing to believe you're the killer if he loses his brother after revealing this information to you. I can only suggest this: Near will most likely invite you both back to his undercover house. There he will confront the pair of you again, and he will most likely decide that you are Kira. If so, stall. Stall and perhaps even try to convince him that it is Yoru somehow. Better yet, Near might believe that Yoru is Kira. Let him believe that, if that is his conclusion. But, before he makes either accusation, you should look for that Death Eraser. Use one of your spare pages from the Death Note, or even the Death Note itself if you can find it, and bring me back. I'll get you outta this mess; I'll be able to make both L and Near believe you are innocent."

Bring him back? She had already been thinking about doing that...

"Kage?" Yoru spoke up, grabbing the girl's attention.

"Sorry," Kage apologized. "You sounded really angry just then; I was waiting for you to calm down."

"Well, what do you have to say about this?" Yoru huffed. "My brother - L the world-famous detective - is refusing to go after Kira. Has coming back from the dead damaged his brain? Has his brain decayed? Because that man does not feel like the Lawliet I used to know!"

"I'm sure he has his reasons," Kage assured. "Your brother is known for working in mysterious ways. He's smart, Yoru; have faith in him."

Yoru listened to and absorbed Kage's words before nodding his head, having calmed down slightly upon hearing what Kage had to say. "Yeah," he agreed. "Yeah. You're right. My brother's smart... he's not stupid. He must have some motivation."

Indeed he did.

He wanted to spare Yoru from the painful truth.

 _..._

Mello headed down into the basement, seeing the blood-covered Lamia slumped back in the chair. Her eyes were closed, but upon hearing Mello's entrance she let them open painfully. Mello's icy eyes gave her a wide and cold stare as he momentarily stood still, but then he approached darkly. He slammed the glass of water onto the table before her, but her tied hands prevented her from reaching for the drink. The sight amused Mello greatly, but he did not smile.

Lamia stopped trying to grab the glass, slumping back again as she glanced to the side. "What do you want...?" she grunted. Mello only frowned at her.

"I was sent to check on you," he answered. "I don't want anything." Lamia let out a weak and quiet huff through almost-smiling lips.

"You're their dog..." she mocked, only to have her face grabbed by the man harshly. She winced in agony due to the cuts and bruises upon her cheeks, which had been inflicted by Saya.

"You're in no position to talk down to me," he hissed. "Look at you. You call yourself a mafioso, huh? You're one of the weakest leaders I've ever seen. You deserve no respect from anyone - not even your own associates."

He pushed her face back, pulling his hand away, not even looking at the blood which had rubbed off on it. Lamia scowled but her expression was one of growing weakness. Saya had succeeded in coming close to breaking her.

"And... I suppose you know about being a mafioso... do you?" she breathed.

"More than you," Mello shot back.

"Ha... I can tell you used to work in this field," Lamia analysed. "That's why they need you to deal with me, right...? Because you're the only one who can beat someone like me..."

"I'm pretty sure even that little shit Drake could beat you in a fight," Mello scoffed. "You're weak, Lamia. You break easily. You confess easily. You're found easily."

He was about to go on, but a tear in Lamia's eye caught his attention. A sign of weakness... but a sign of acceptance, too. She knew everything he said was right.

Mello didn't focus on her sorrow for too long, shaking his head and stepping away. "Have fun trynna drink that water; they'll probably send me down here again shortly, anyway." With that, he marched out of the basement. He wasn't truly comfortable being around people like that; they reminded him of his own mafia days.

And because of his own experiences, he almost felt sorry for Lamia.

Almost.

 **~End of Chapter~**


End file.
